A Heroe's Tale Book 1: Rise From the Ashes
by Shadow1275
Summary: Heroe's they are the envy of all. People cry with them when they fail and cheer for them when they succeed. But what makes a Hero so special? Is power the path to being a Hero? Or is success the Key to Heroism? To find out, we turn to a world where ninja reign supreme to watch a hero rise from the ashes. In the Village of Konoha, one boy pledges to become the greatest of them all!


A Heroe's Tale! Book 1: Rise From the Ashes

Prologue: The Saga Begins!

Heroes, they are the envy of all. People look up to them, cheer them on, cry when they fail, and celebrate when they succeed. However, how does one become a hero? Is power the path that leads to heroism? Is sacrifice the key to immortality? The best way to find out naturally is to watch one rise from the ashes. In our case we enter a world where conflict defines the land. In this world, there are no guns, tanks or cars. Instead you have ninja. Ninja have been admired for their skills in concealment and assassination and nowhere is this more true than in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Here is where our story begins and as we watch our boy grow into a man and eventually a hero, perhaps we will gain some insight as to what a true hero is.

"This is bad" Joe thought as he raced to get dressed. It was the first day of final exams at the academy and he had stayed up so late cramming information that he had forgotten to set his alarm. He knew that he could not afford to be late as his GPA was low enough already. These exams were important and if he did not score high enough than he would be forced to repeat his academy training or worse; be dropped from the program forever. As he left his small apartment building he thought about why he had joined the Konoha ninja program in the first place. When he was a child, his village had been involved in a brutal war with the Village hidden in the Clouds. Those days were still a blur to him but he did have one memory. He remembered a giant red ball about to crush him when all of a sudden a man in a ninja uniform appeared out of nowhere and reflected the ball back at the beast. It was because of that man that he had decided to become a ninja. He tried to remember what the man looked like but whenever he tried his head started to pound with pain. He could remember one thing though, the sinister red eyes of the shadow as a blood-red talon reached out and tried to grab him. Joe shook his head, "I don't have time to dwell on the past, I have to get to the academy as soon as possible!" Joe thought as he grabbed his necklace and ran.

As he was jogging to the academy, he noticed a little girl watching him. "Joe!" she exclaimed. "Oh hi Ariana, what are you up to?" Joe asked. "Nothing really, Lady Mariko let me come outside for a little bit to pick flowers!" she happily answered. Ariana was a 5 year old who was a very close friend of his as she would always come out to meet him when he was on his way home from the academy. "Are you here to play with me Joe?" She asked hopefully. "Nah not right now Ariana, I have to get to the academy." He felt bad for turning her down. Because of the recent wars and the dangerous animals that lived in the surrounding forest, children were not allowed to leave their homes unless they were accompanied by an adult. Seeing as Ariana was an orphan, the only times that she could leave were when Joe could watch her. "Oh okay." Ariana said somberly. "Don't worry Ariana, I'll come by after exams." Ariana smiled and waved goodbye. Feeling better, Joe ran off to the academy resolving to keep his promise.

"Finally, I can see the academy from here." As Joe ran the home stretch to the Academy, he was thinking about the exam. To be honest, he had no idea what the exact tests would be like. He had heard stories of what the other villages' tests consisted of, some easygoing while others were completely brutal. As he drew closer to the academy, he remembered a story he had heard from the older ninja about exams. They told him of how in a far-off land, the final exam consisted of an all-out battle royale between the students. A battle to the death where only the last man standing would go on to become a ninja. "Hopefully this exam will be nothing like that one." He said to himself as he reached the door. All of a sudden he was knocked over as the door shot open and slammed into his face. "Got him." "You mean you were planning that the whole time? You're so awesome Yahiko!" "Ah great, the pretty boy and his little groupie are here. Fantastic." Joe thought to himself as he got up. Yahiko Shimazu was one of his classmates at the academy. Not only was he considered handsome by the girls at the school, but he was one of the top students in the class and a real pain in Joe's ass. "Hey Yahiko, why don't you tell your boyfriend to leave so he doesn't have to see me ruin your face." Joe said as he faced towards Yahiko. "What did you call me you idiot! How dare you!" Sakura said as she planted a punch in Joe's face. "Oww. I forgot Sakura had such a mean right hook." Joe thought as he rubbed his face. Sakura Haruno was another one of his classmates. She was also one of the smartest girls in school though she had eyes for only one trophy, Yahiko's heart. "Why are you here? There's no way a slacker like you is going to pass the final exams." "I'll do better than that Sakura, I'm going to become the strongest ninja in the world!" Joe replied. Upon hearing this Yahiko laughed and said, "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard, you a strong ninja? You can't even block a punch from Sakura, much less pass final exams. But I've wasted enough time. I'm leaving." "Wait Yahiko, I'm coming too! Later loser." As he watched Sakura and Yahiko walk off towards the classroom, he thought, "If I pass this exam and they end up on my team, I think I might actually kill them." As he daydreamed about the ways that he could beat up Yahiko, he failed to notice someone come up from behind. "So you expect to pass the exams but you can't even sense when someone sneaks up on you?" Joe instantly wheeled around and then smiled. "It's about time you got here Shikamaru." It was good to see a friendly face, especially on exam day. Nara Shikamaru was his best friend not to mention one of the smartest students at the academy, even though he was too lazy for anyone to notice. "From that bruise on your face I'm guessing that Yahiko pulled another sneak attack on you huh." Shikamaru said. "Yes and no, let's just say that Sakura doesn't exactly like being called his boyfriend." Joe answered. Laughing Shikamaru replied, "Hahaha you sure have a way with women. C'mon, let's go tackle this final exam!" "You got it!" Joe replied and with a smile on his face, he and Shikamaru headed for the classroom.

Chapter 1: The First Test!

As Joe entered the classroom he was greeted with a somber silence. The students were all sitting in the rowed desks. Some were cramming in some last minute studying. Others were practicing their basic jutsu in the corners of the classroom. One kid however was sitting apart from all the rest. He was wearing a white shirt with a blue vest and mesh underneath, along with blue shorts to match. "Hey Shikamaru, whose that kid over there?" "Good question, maybe he was held back and is here to retake the exams." Nara replied. "Maybe… he looks a little young to be a washout though." "Yeah, you're right Joe, I wonder what his story is." Just as Joe was about to walk up to him Darren Hirotayama, the main instructor walked into the room. "Alright listen up. I know you are all stressed over the final exam but I don't want you to worry. People have passed these tests before. However, if you fail do not get discouraged. For some, failure will mean staying back for more training and retaking the exam. For others, failure will mean termination for the program. The truth is that though you all wish to be ninja, we can only take the best. If we were to allow people who are not qualified to be ninja, than we risk not only the lives of our fellow ninja but the safety of the village as well. It is not everyone's destiny to be ninja and even the ones who make it can expect a hard life filled with sacrifice and sorrow. That being said, it's time to find out if you have what it takes to be a part of the Leaf Shinobi. Everyone follow me outside." As Joe walked out he began to wonder what the exam would be. He looked over towards Shikamaru. If this exam was really going to be a battle royal, he knew that he could not do it. He could not kill his best friend, but what if he fought against Yahiko? Shikamaru was his friend but Yahiko was a different story. Yahiko was always trying to one-up him in everything they did, whether it was training, Kunai throwing, or even smack talk. Could he kill Yahiko if it came down to it? Even though he hated Yahiko for harassing him, he didn't think he could do it. "Sure Yahiko deserves a beat down or two, but death? No, that's too far. So if this does turn into a battle royale, what do I do?" Joe thought.

Finally, after walking for what seemed like hours they stopped in front of a forest. "This is part of the forest that surrounds and protects our village from our enemies. The first part of this exam is designed to test your Taijutsu skills. Your goal is to reach the other side of the forest." Hirotama explained. " But how is this supposed to test our Taijutsu skills sensai?" Sakura asked. "Good question Sakura. You're right that Taijutsu is mainly a combative style. However, in order to carry out the advanced Taijutsu required by higher level ninja, a shinobi must have discipline and mastery over his body. This part of the forest is special. It houses many dangerous animals who will attempt to attack in close combat which will test your Taijutsu skills. However, it will also test your stamina. This forest may look normal on the outside, but on the inside it has been modified to better suit our needs." "What kinds of modifications have been made to the forest?" Joe asked. "Now now Joe, that would spoil the surprise." Hirotama replied slyly, "are there any more questions? No? Good then begin." With that the first part of the final exams had begun.

At first the students began to file in slowly, unsure of what sort of trap that the instructors had waiting for them. However, patience had never been one of Yahiko's strong suits as Joe recalled, and he immediately ran in front of the line desperate to get a head start. As Yahiko ran Hirotama smiled. All of a sudden Joe heard Sakura call out "YAHIKO WAIT!" It was too late however, as Joe saw a look of panic form on Yahiko's face as he was half-swallowed into the ground. "That must be the surprise that Hirotama-sensei was talking about Shikamaru. Quick sand! It looks like the whole forest floor is coated in the stuff." Joe exclaimed. "Somebody help me quick!" Yahiko shouted. He was beginning to panic no doubt from fear of being the first to fail. "Someone help him before he is sucked under!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's just quick sand, Sakura. Your boy toy isn't going to die anytime soon, just give him a branch or something and let him pull himself out. And for god sakes Yahiko stop struggling or else you're going to be sucked in completely!" Joe shouted. "C'mon Joe let's keep moving. The question is how do we reach the other side without fighting the quick-sand?" Shikamaru asked. "I have a better question Nara, how good of a climber are you?" Joe replied. With that they began climbing up the trees until they reached the branches. As he climbed Joe looked down and noticed that the other students had begun to do the same. He realized that the point of the quick-sand was to force them to stay in the trees. In order to cross the forest, they would need to utilize all their balance, strength, and agility skills. With the path ahead clear, Joe and Nara began to traverse the forest.

"This isn't so hard" Joe thought as he and Nara began to outpace the others. "As long as we keep moving we should be the first one's out of the woods and it will be harder for us to be attacked." He looked back at Shikamaru to see how he was doing. Unfortunately, Shikamaru looked like he was battling a cramp. Concerned, Joe asked, "Whats a matter Shika, you look like your struggling?" "I'm fine it's just that stamina isn't one of my strong suits. Here, I'm going to stop and rest for a sec, you go on." He replied. "No way Shika, we can rest for a couple minutes and keep moving." "Thanks Joe I appreciate it." "Wait here Shika, I'm going to find us some water to drink, there ought to be a stream around here somewhere." "Alright, don't take too long though; we still have an exam to finish." Giving him a quick wave, Joe then went searching for a stream. Eventually he found one not too far from their rest spot and began to refill their canteens. He was feeling good about the first part of the exam. So far they had managed to avoid the quick-sand and any unwelcome "pets" as well. As if on cue, he suddenly heard a shout come from where he had just been. Worried about Shikamaru, Joe sealed the cantina he was filling and began climbing. When he got back, what he saw shocked him. Shikamaru was glued to the side of a tree with some sort of white silk like substance. However, that was not what had him worried. His bigger concern was the giant Spider slowly moving closer to Shikamaru. The spider was enormous; easily four times the size of Joe. It had 4 pincers on its mouth and well over a hundred red eyes, eyes just like the shadow except more. Instantly his mind flashed back to that night, the sinister red eyes, the hand reaching out for him and everything turning re"WAKE UP JOE! I HAVE NO INTENTION OF BECOMING A SPIDER TURD!" Joe was instantly jolted back to reality. He immediately sprang into action, closing the gap between the beast and himself. Reaching into his holster, he pulled out his Kunai and began stabbing the beast but it was no use. The spider kept moving not even noticing his attacks. "I don't think that is working Joe, maybe you should TRY SOMETHING ELSE!" Shikamaru yelled. "Any Ideas?" Joe asked. "Oh I don't know try blowing him up. That usually works." Joe again reached into his pouch and pulled out a bomb tag. The beast hearing Joe's yelling, began to turn and attack him with its pincers. Focusing on the beast, Joe waited for it to lunge and front flipped onto its back hitting two of its eyes with kunai as he flew. He then quickly placed the seal and quickly leaped away. The beast, preoccupied with its eyes roared in pain. "Lights out!" Joe said with a smirk as he made the hand-sign to activate the tag. He watched as the tag exploded taking the beast with it. However as the smoke cleared, instead of seeing hundreds of mini-spider bits like he expected, he saw a pissed-off spider looking for revenge for its eyes. "You and your brilliant plans Shikamaru!" Joe shouted. His face had a look of horror as the spider closed the distance between them in a single leap. As he watched the spider rear itself about to attack, he found himself immobilized by the red eyes, like they had some sort of hypnotic effect over him. He closed his eyes expecting the end. A moment passed, then two, and finally three. Curious as to why he wasn't spider chow, he opened his eyes. Shikamaru had somehow gotten free and was making some sort of weird hand sign. The spider was no longer reared as it had been before, but was standing still as if it had suddenly lost all will to attack them. Looking at the ground he noticed that Shikamaru and the spider were connected by some sort of shadow. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru exclaimed. Slowly he walked to the branches edge. The spider followed, mirroring Shikamaru's movements until it ran out of room and fell into the quicksand. As if the connection had broken, the spider began to struggle and was pulled into the abyss. "How'd you get free Shika?" "When you detonated that paper bomb, the explosion freed up one of my hands and I cut myself out with a Kunai knife. Speaking of which, what happened back there? There were two times where I saw you just freeze up with this pale look on your face? Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm okay Shika. Just a little tired, it's been a long day. C'mon let's keep moving." Hoping that his friend's concern would fade with that response, Joe and Shikamaru continued their journey to the other side of the woods.

"Finally, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, err forest." Joe said as they finally exited the woods. The last leg of the journey had been a quiet one. Joe had wanted to avoid detection but Shikamaru must have known that he was only using it as an excuse to avoid talking about the spider debacle. "It's not that I don't want to talk, it's just that there isn't anything to talk about considering the fact that I can't remember anything. At least without a severe pain in my head." Joe thought. As he and Shikamaru reached the group of instructors, he looked around. There was a good amount of students left over, about 3/4s of what they had started with. Yahiko who was standing off to the side, kept looking over the survivors expectantly. Upon noticing Joe, he quickly walked over to him. "So Yahiko, are you here to thank me for saving your sorry butt back there?" Joe asked. "Nah, I'm here to tell you that well you were busy running from spiders, I was locking up first place in the first part!" As Joe was thinking of a comeback, Sakura's voice could be heard off in the distance calling Yahiko's name. "Whoops, time to go. I don't have any more time to waste on you or her. I have to start getting ready for the next part of the exam. See ya loser." And with that he stormed off, a sneer plastered on his face. "I really despise that guy." Joe said. "I know Joe but we can't let him get to us right now, we have to focus on the next part of the exams." Shikamaru replied. "He's right" thought Joe. "Our biggest priority right now is passing. I wonder what the next part will consist of?" A voice suddenly rang out over a speaker. "Alright, now will all the surviving students please report to me immediately to begin preparations for the next part of the exam." As Joe looked over at the man, he noticed that this man was different from all the other instructors. He was older appearing to be in his 50s, he had a scar right above his right eye and wore a bandana over his head. He was also covered in a long cloak concealing most of his body. However, what struck Joe the most was his eyes. To Joe, they seemed cold and piercing as if the man was looking straight into his heart. "Hello students, my name is Ibiki. I am required to advise you that this next phase is even more dangerous than the last one. It is designed to introduce you to the torture that you could experience at the enemies hands." "Torture?" Joe thought. "Oh great."

Chapter 2: It's all in your Head

"Here's how this portion of the exam will work. In the ninja world, the enemy will use any tool at their disposal. Some will use fists to achieve their goals; others however will use their minds to attack you through genjutsu. As ninja you must be prepared to resist these tactics in order to protect your fellow shinobi. In order to test your resistance to genjutsu techniques, each of you will be told a safe word by myself. In order to pass this next set of exams you will need to resist telling your instructor for 5 minutes. If you can't resist that long then you will immediately fail this test." Ibiki explained. "Only 5 minutes? This is going to be too easy." Said Joe. "Only an idiot like you would believe that Joe." Sakura said. "Genjutsu is way more complex than that. While it may only be 5 minutes for the caster, for the victim five minutes can turn into five hours. Even five days!" "Five days of torture?" Joe thought. "That's a lot longer than five minutes! Still, I can't back down now. Not after making it through the first part." Having reassured himself, he headed over to the line of students. One by one Ibiki called out the names of his classmates. As each student approached, they either nervously headed to the instructor's tents or back to the forest for the long way home. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he heard his name called by Ibiki. "Ah so this is the slacker from class 110. I have heard much about you from your instructor Hirotama." Ibiki said. "All good things I hope sir." Joe replied. "According to him you are brilliant." Ibiki stated. "Yeah I know usel… wait what?" Joe exclaimed dumbfounded. "You didn't let me finish. He said that you are a brilliant ninja but are lazy. You don't study for tests and sometimes flat out refuse to show up for class." Ibiki finished. "Well there's a reason for that sir, you see classes for some reason always tend to start after I wake up and no matter how many times I ask Hirotama-Sensei to move the class times he always turns me down." "That's enough joking around Joe, if you wish to be a ninja you had better start taking this more seriously or else. I will not let anyone who is not 100% committed to this program join. Now your word is will. You had better have a strong will boy because this next test will push you to the limit. Now head over to your assigned tent." "Yes sir." Joe answered. As Joe walked toward his assigned tent, he wondered what sort of genjutsu they would use on him. "A one on one fight I can handle, but genjutsu's different. I had better be on my guard." When he reached the tent, he opened the door.

Inside he saw a table, a couple chairs, and a fridge. "This looks nothing like a tent, whats going on here?" Joe thought. "All right, where's this instructor who is supposed to torture me?" Joe shouted. "Hello? Anybody home?" Not hearing anything, he decided to leave in case he had entered the wrong tent. As he went to open the door, he hit the wall. "I must have forgotten to turn the knob." Joe said. As he looked down, he could not find the knob on the door. In fact there was no door at all. "Doors just don't disappear, maybe I'm in that genjutsu they were talking about. Still, if taking away a door is the best they've got then this should be a piece of cake."

Outside of Joe's mind Ibiki stood next to Hirotama. The boy was kneeling in front of them with a blank look on his face. "The jutsu has taken full effect Ibiki, he is completely under my spell." "Good work Hirotama." The other students had already been given their safe-words and were undertaking their examinations. Ibiki however, had decided that Joe's genjutsu resistance test would be given by himself personally. It was not that he hated the boy. But he had a duty to his comrades. "If this slacker becomes a full-fledged ninja, he will put his comrades in danger. I cannot let this happen under any circumstances. Time to stop messing around." Ibiki thought to himself. Ibiki than moved next to Hirotama. "Hirotama, step aside. I'm taking over. Let's take it up a notch."

"HELP ME!" Joe wheeled around as he heard somebody scream. All of a sudden a shadowy hand came out of nowhere smashing through the walls of the house. Joe was caught off guard as it grabbed him and threw him out onto the streets. "Something about all of this seems familiar" he thought to himself. All of a sudden it dawned on him. He was standing in the middle of his nightmare. "So this is how they plan to torture me huh? That's a low blow." He began scanning the area but there was no one in sight. Then he saw them, the red eyes, except this time the shadow had the form of the spider he had fought before. A chill went down his spine as he remembered how close he had come to being spider chow. The spider slowly crept toward him, intent on finishing him off. Joe tried to move, however for some reason his body refused to respond. "What is the safe word?" the spider asked. Remembering the exam rules Joe replied, "over my dead body!" "I can see that pain will not change your mind." Another scream rang out. "But perhaps the pain of another will change your mind." With that, the spider began to pull against the air. Looking closer, Joe noticed that there was some sort of string being pulled by the spider. Another scream and all of a sudden Joe's heart dropped into his stomach. "You bastard!" he shouted, "Leave her out of this!" Joe watched in horror as Ariana was being slowly dragged closer and closer to the monster. "You will tell me the safe word, or you will watch her die." The Spider said. "Help me Joe!" Ariana yelled her eyes wide with terror. Joe struggled with every inch of his being to move, even a finger. But it was no use, he could only struggle as Ariana was now at the feet of this evil being. "I will only ask you one more time, give me the safe word or I will kill this girl!" "Alright you win, I'll tell you the password." Joe said in defeat. "You would do so? You know that if you tell me this information you will give up your place as a ninja?" "I know, but Ariana is more important. If I have to sacrifice my dream, then so be it. The password is-"

All of a sudden, Joe found himself back in front of Ibiki. He noticed Hirotama was standing in front of him as well. Slumping his shoulders in defeat, he prepared to leave the tent when Ibiki said," Where do you think you are going?" "I failed the exam." Joe replied. "even though I never said the safe word, I still was about to give it up. If this was a real mission I would have betrayed my comrades." "No you have not. In that nightmare you were just put through, I gave you a choice. I made you decide between you and someone other than yourself and you passed with flying colors." Ibiki said. Joe a little confused, suddenly asked, "but the safe wo-" "was irrelevant." Ibiki interrupted him. "The most important part of being a Konoha shinobi is being able to put the safety of others above your own. To have learned this at such a young age is commendable." "So I made it master Ibiki?" "That's right, you passed the second test. Dismissed." "Yes sir thank you sir I have to go sir." Joe replied as he raced past Ibiki and Hirotama. "Why did you let him go? He failed the test." Hirotama asked. "Look at the timer." Ibiki answered. "What is this? 10 minutes? How did he survive that long and why did you wait longer than usual?" "You heard me Hirotama. I wanted to test him to see if he had the character of a shinobi." Ibiki responded. "As for how he survived. Watch that one closely Hirotama, he has a burning fire in his eyes that isn't dying anytime soon."

Chapter 3: The Final Test

As Joe left the tent, he took a look around at the surviving group. Of course Sakura, Shikamaru, and Yahiko had all survived the test. He was surprised to see that the younger ninja was sitting among the remaining survivors. "This guy must be good if he has survived this long, I better watch my back." As Joe walked over to the rest of the survivors Shikamaru motioned him to come over. "What took you so long? You were the last one out." Shikamaru asked. "It's nothing Shika, Genjutsu was never one of my strengths." Joe replied. "So who was the first one out?" "Well I heard that Yahiko broke out of his in 10 seconds. Sakura did it in 2 minutes but she was always good against Genjutsu. However, the real surprising one is that younger ninja, he finished 10 seconds after Yahiko!" Shikamaru answered. "He did? What's the story with this guy?" "I don't know Joe but there's a reason that he is taking the exam so early." At that point Hirotama came forward to address the students. "We are about to begin the last test. This test will decide whether you become a true ninja or not. Can anyone tell me what the third form of shinobi combat is?" Hirotama asked. "The third form of Shinobi combat is Ninjutsu." Joe replied. "That's correct, however the problem with testing your ninjutsu skills is that you have no advanced ninjutsu techniques. However, you do possess basic ninjutsu arts such as doppelganger forms, so for your final test, you will need to remain concealed until nightfall." "In a couple minutes, I will signal the start of this last part. You will then remain hidden in the woods until you see a flare shoot up into the sky. Once that happens, you may exit the forest and head back to the academy." "This ought to be a piece of cake then!" Yahiko stated. "Not so fast Mr. Shimazu. You didn't let me finish. The reason you must remain concealed is because instructors will be searching for you in the forest. If they find you, they will chase you and attempt to tag you with kunai. You don't want to get tagged with Kunai, it is not fun. When you are tagged you will be transported out of the forest and will have failed this examination. Any questions? No? Then begin!" The final exam had finally begun.

As soon as Joe heard Hirotama give the go ahead, he ran to enter the forest. "The first step to concealment is timing. If I can beat everyone else out than I'll have more time to prepare my hiding spot." Speeding ahead of the pack, Joe began to plan his approach. "I need something convenient, yet so unpredictable that I can kill as much time as possible. The only question is what should I use?" As he pondered his plan of attack, he tripped over a branch and landed in front of a tree. "How the hell did I…wait that's it! This is just perfect!" With that, he set about making his hiding place.

Joe had entered just in time before the first instructors came by. They were good, as they immediately spotted several students instantly. However, Joe was sure that his hiding spot was foolproof. When he had landed after tripping over the branch, he noticed that the tree in front of him had a nice peephole going inside. After hollowing out a spot with his Kunai, he had quickly inserted himself to watch the show. He watched as the instructors eventually moved on after giving up their search in that sector. All of a sudden he saw something rise up from under the ground. "Hey, that's that young kid, the one who got moved up!" Joe thought." He must've been hiding right under their noses. Very sneaky. Maybe it's about time I introduce myself." Carefully, he left his hiding spot and began to make his way over to the boy. Suddenly, a kunai flashed from out of nowhere heading straight for the boy. Joe was about to shout a warning but it was too late. The kunai was a second away from skewering the boy's head. What he didn't notice, was that the boy had already begun to react. In what seemed like a millisecond, the boy ducked, caught the Kunai…. And then threw it straight back at Joe. Joe immediately moved to dodge but was sliced on the cheek. "What the hell was that for?" Joe demanded. "A knife comes flying at me and you're the only one holding a kunai. I'm the one who should be asking that question!" Replied the boy. The boy began to charge and Joe knew that things had just gotten serious.

Joe instantly drew his signature Kunai and moved into a defensive posture. He watched as the boy then leaped and was instantly right on top of him. "He's fast." Joe thought as he began to parry the boy's stabs. "If I even lose focus for a second he'll cut me in half. I've got to get some distance and come up with a plan." Joe then sent a roundhouse kick but the boy jumped back. As he spun, he reached into his pouch. The boy quickly jumped to close the distance, Joe rolled under his kick and to his back. The boy caught off guard, could do nothing as Joe upon finishing his roll planted a mule kick into the boy's back. "Finally, I've got the advantage! Now to finish this before…" Joe thought. "I found you Joe." Joe's heart dropped like a rock. Hirotama sensei had found him. "…an instructor comes to check out the commotion. This is bad!" Joe finished his thought, then said," Ah Hirotama sensei, my favorite instructor." "Flattery will get you nowhere Joe. I'm taking you down!" Hirotama replied, and then he added," figuratively speaking of course." "While what about the other guy?" Joe asked. At that moment, the boy vanished in a puff of smoke. "A doppelganger? He was fighting me as a doppleganger?" Joe thought. "Are you crazy, it's just you and me right now!" Hirotama answered. All of a sudden, an explosion rang out right behind Hirotama forcing him to jump to safety. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, Joe was nowhere in sight.

"Perfect, my plan worked." The boy thought as he watched Hirotama close on his opponent. He had been hiding in the dirt in order to avoid capture but had decided to move to a place that the instructors had already searched. When he emerged however, that older kid had thrown a kunai knife at him. "It had to be him." The boy thought to himself. "There was no one else around. Plus if I had a dollar for every time an older student tried to beat me up than I could hire the Hokage himself as my bodyguard." The truth was, because he had advanced so quickly, many older students tended to pick on him because they were jealous of his skills, or at least that's what he thought anyway. From the start, he had been worried about instructor interference so he had sent out his doppleganger instead. Hirotama sensei coming was an added bonus. All of a sudden, his attention was brought back to the battlefield as he saw an explosion. When the smoke cleared, the other kid had vanished. "How did he pull it off?" The boy thought. In his head he went over the fight and realized what had happened, "when he reached into his pouch, he must've pulled a bomb tag out. The only point of contact was when he kicked the doppleganger in the back. Which means that he must have placed the tag on the bottom of his shoe when he rolled. When I undid the doppleganger jutsu, the tag fell to the ground behind Hirotama and he detonated it in order to cause a distraction. Very sneaky! Attacking me when my back is turned then trying to blow me up. What a dick!" Resolving to get his revenge later, he watched with relief as Hirotama moved on.

"That was too close!" Joe exclaimed. "It's a good thing that I accidently pulled a bomb tag instead of a fire-tag or else I would be screwed." Then again, he was lucky that it had been a doppleganger because he had no intention of killing the blue boy. Even though the boy had abandoned him to Hirotama sensei. "Ditching me as soon as he saw Hirotama sensei, what a dick!" Joe thought. Unfortunately for Joe, Hirotama had chosen that moment to catch up to him. "Correction Joe, you are screwed!" "Oh come on! How did you find me this fast?" Joe immediately started jumping from branch to branch with Hirotama in hot pursuit. "You have talent Joe, but you always were sloppy. But that is to be expected of a slacker. You shouldn't have slept through concealment class. There were so many broken twigs that I could have found you with my eyes closed." Joe ducked as Hirotama threw a bola at him. It was not looking good for Joe as he couldn't outrun Hirotama for much longer. The toll of three tests in a row was slowly catching up to his body. Finally, his body weakened for a split-second. His left leg gave out and he tripped over a branch. Unfortunately, that was all the time that Hirotama needed. Sensing victory, Hirotama threw another bola that wrapped Joe up from head to toe. "That's it Joe, this game's over. A word of advice, it usually isn't a good idea…" Joe suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke."…to bl-ow up yo-ur ins-truc-tor?" Hirotama finished. With a dumbfounded look on his face he said, "A doppelganger? He must've gone a different way well his clone led me on a merry chase through the forest!" The look then changed to a smile. "Maybe he was paying attention after all."

"Finally, it's over." Joe said as he saw the flare rise up into the sky. It had been a long day with the spider, the fight, and playing tag with Hirotama sensei. But now he could finally relax. He couldn't believe it, he was finally a full-fledged ninja. As he left the forest, he saw Shikamaru and immediately ran over to him. "So did you pass Shika?" "Yeah, it was easy. Looks like you passed too. C'mon, the other students who passed are gathering in the auditorium. Let's go Joe." Joe and Shikamaru began to walk back to the academy. "So I heard you got into a fight?" Shikamaru asked. " Yeah, someone threw a kunai at blue-boy when I was trying to get to know him. I made one hell of a first impression though!" Joe replied. Shikamaru smiling, than jokingly smacked himself in the forehead. Eventually they reached the academy. "By the way Shika, did everyone's favorite pop star and groupie survive too?" Joe asked. "I didn't see them come ou…" "Oh Yahiko, you're so amazing." "Get off of me Sakura!" "But then again." Shikamru finished as Joe smacked his own forehead this time. As he and Shikamaru sat down, Hirotama cleared his throat expectantly. "First off, congratulations on passing your final exams. You all worked very hard and have earned your place as ninja. But do not believe that it gets easier from here. You are about to be faced with the toughest challenges you can imagine as you will constantly be tested out in the field. However, know that we as instructors believe in all of you and passing this exam is proof of that. That being said, tomorrow is graduation day where your headbands will be handed out to you and pictures will be taken for your ninja licenses. The ceremony will also commence tomorrow and Lord Hokage may show up. Tonight, enjoy your victory. Tomorrow however, prepare not to be academy students, but be konoha shinobi in look, attitude, and behavior. Dismissed!" With that the students got up and hurriedly filed out, excited for tonight's celebration. One ninja however, still had one last task to take care of before he celebrated. Saying goodbye to his friend, he went on his way.

Chapter 4: A Quiet Rest

Though Joe had been through three straight tests, he was filled with energy. Not only had he finally become a real ninja, but he also got to brag about it to Ariana. "I know it might be a little selfish but it's nice to get a little hero-worship now and then. Especially since no one else ever wants to." Joe thought to himself. He checked his watch, the time said 7 o clock which meant that he had at least two hours before he would have to take Ariana back to her home. As he reached the orphanage, he saw Lady Mariko sweeping the porch outside. "Oh hello Joe, It's good to see you again. How are you today?" "Fantastic!" Joe replied. Lady Mariko was the caretaker of the orphanage where Ariana lived. She was a nice old woman who cared deeply for the kids. "So is Ariana here?" Joe asked. "Yes she's in her room waiting for you." "Thank you Lady Mariko." Joe replied. Heading into the orphanage he took a look around. "This place sure brings back memories." Joe thought. Though he had lived by himself since he was 10, the orphanage had been his home ever since he was 5. He had always wondered about his parents. What they were like, what their jobs had been, what they looked like. "I wonder if they would have been proud of me?" Joe thought to himself. Upon reaching Ariana's room, he decided to tease her a little. "Whats up Munchkin?" Joe said. Ariana who had been looking out the window immediately jumped up off her bed and turned around. "JOE! Your finally here! Wait a minute." Ariana said as Joe gave her a mischievous grin. Ariana was face to face with 3 Joe's all sticking their tongues at her. "That's no fair! You know I can't make 3 of me yet!" She said as all three Joe's gave her a nougie. Getting the smile he was looking for, Joe kneeled down as Ariana hopped onto his shoulders. "Hang on tight Ariana!" Joe exclaimed as he walked out of her room and through the doors. "Have fun you two, take good care of Ariana!" Lady Mariko said with a smile on her face. "Will do we'll be back by nine." Joe promised as he left the orphanage with Ariana in tow. "So Ariana it's your night tonight, where do you want to go?" "Ooh how about we go to the park! No wait we should go pick flowers! Oh we can go Doll shopping!" Ariana exclaimed. Joe looking a little overwhelmed said, "why don't I pick where we go instead? That way it will be a surprise." "Ok sounds Great! Surprise Surprise I get a Surprise!" Ariana cheered. "I wonder where we should go." Joe thought. "Oh I know."

"This is Awesome!" Ariana said. Joe had decided that the best way to make sure she had a good time was a little ice cream. "After all, everyone loves Ice cream. Especially chocolate!" Joe said. "Nah, vanilla is wwaaayyy better dummy!" Ariana said with a smile as she worked on her vanilla soft serve cone. "I beg to differ Ariana, and so do ice cream lovers across the world." He replied. "Oh yeah well differ this! Oh no." Ariana, who was riding piggy back, had lost her balance trying to reach over and smack Joe in the head for his vanilla comments. As a result her ice cream had fallen onto the ground. "I'm sorry Joe. I dropped it." She said as she began to cry. Joe immediately reacted handing her his, "here you go Ariana." "But this is your ice cream Joe." "That's all right, I wouldn't be very good if I was a fat ninja wouldn't I." He said with a smile. Ariana then took a small bite out of the cone. "You know Joe, chocolate isn't really half-bad!" She said, a teary smile forming on her face. "Ah a watery smile, but at least she's happy. I really want to make sure she has a good time." Joe thought. "I wish we could do this all the time." Ariana said. "Hey Ariana, why don't we hit the park for a bit?" Joe asked changing the subject. "All Right let's GO!" She cheered. Ariana finished her ice cream and then ran over to the swing set. "Push me Joe!" She demanded. "All right, all right I'm coming." Joe said as he walked over. He began to push her gently on the swing. "So Ariana.."Joe tried to say, but she was too busy kicking the air. "Higher Higher!" She urged him. "Ariana, we have to talk." Ariana smiling at first, suddenly looked dismayed upon hearing his tone change. "Ariana, I'm a full-fledged ninja now." "That's great Joe. I knew you could do it!" "That means that I'm going to be going on real missions, missions that could take days or weeks." Joe said with a somber expression. "But, when will you have time to play with me?" Ariana asked as tears began to well up in her eyes. "That's the thing Ariana, I don't know if we will be able to spend every day together like we are now." "Oh." Ariana said sadly as she stopped swinging. She then got off of the swing and began walking towards the orphanage. Joe immediately ran to catch up. "C'mon Joe she's tearing up, say something." Joe thought to himself. "Hey I got it!" Catching up to Ariana he shouted, "Hey Ariana! Catch!" Joe then threw the only possession of value that he had. "Joe, but this necklace. You said it belonged to your parents?" Ariana said. "Ariana, you and I may not be in the same place, but we will never truly be apart. I want you to keep this." Joe said as he put his necklace around her. It was not special. It had a simple string holding it together. The important part was the small circle ruby. "This way I will always be by your side, just like my parents were for me through this necklace." Joe said with a smile. At last he saw her began to feel better, as she jumped on top of his back. "Well, it's getting late Ariana, time to head home." "Yeah I'm getting sleepy. Hey Joe?" She replied drowsily. "Yeah Ariana?" "I know that we won't get to hang out as much, but even if we see each other once in a while, I'll still be happy." She said. "Me too Ariana…" Joe said smiling. However Ariana didn't answer him. "Ariana?" Joe called. As he looked back at her he saw that she had fallen asleep. He walked the rest of the way to the orphanage in silence.

Joe woke up early the next day and started it like any other. He ran a couple miles, did some weight training, and practiced his chakra control. However, today he ran a little faster, lifted a little heavier, and practiced longer for today was different. Today was his first official day as a Leaf shinobi and he was pumped. Finishing his workout, he came back to his small apartment and began to get ready for the day. As he showered he thought about what the day held in store. "If I remember right, genin are put into squads. I hope I get put with someone good and not those two jerks." After toweling off he began to get dressed. "If they're taking our license photos today, I had better look my best. Time to try out that new look I had planned." After he finished dressing, he looked at himself in the mirror. He had decided to ditch his old dark green garb and go for a more mature look instead. He wore a black full bodysuit with light mesh armor underneath to cover his tattoo. Over those, he also wore a black over shirt with black shorts which had green and grey stripes running down the sides. On his shoulders were two identical patches that had the insignia that was on his parents' necklace. It was a black 3 pronged shuriken with a red background. On his hands were two black fingerless gloves with silver hand guards on the outsides. Attached to his waist belt were two pouches containing his throwing weapons. On his left leg, he had taped a pouch containing basic medical supplies and on his right was his holster for his personal kunai. He picked it up and examined it before putting it in its holster. The knife itself was just a little wider and longer than most kunai as kunai were primarily used as throwing weapons. However, that was not all the differences, as Joe had given his a dark green grip with his signature symbol on both sides of the base. Satisfied that it was as deadly and cool as ever, he placed it in his holster. He then took another look at himself in the mirror. At age 15, he was about 5'8", well-built, and around 205 pounds. "Wait a minute, something is missing." Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his most prized possession. Grabbing both ends of the black cloth, he tied them around his forehead. "That's better, wouldn't be a ninja without my head-band." The item of clothing did not look special as it was simply a thin line of cloth with a band of metal that had the Leaf symbol engraved on it. However, it was the most important piece of all because it proved that Joe was a true ninja of Konoha. It proved easy to put on as Joe had always kept his brown hair short. Finally satisfied, he went to grab his stuff. However, as he looked at the clock, he noticed that the time said 10:00. "Oh no, late again! Time to haul ass!" He thought as he threw his lunch in his bag, threw on his watch, and began sprinting to the academy.

Chapter 5: Kakashi Hatake

As Joe rushed to the doors of the academy, he failed to notice that someone was walking in front of him. As a result he bowled right over the person like a wrecking ball. He immediately got up and kept running as the person shouted, "hey aren't you even going to apologize?" "I'm walking here too pal, maybe you should get your eyes looked at!" Joe retorted. Finally after leaving the stranger in the dust, he reached the academy doors and ran through the academy doors. He had just rounded the corner when he spotted Hirotama sensei. "Hirotama sensei, I made it." Joe yelled. "Ah finally, you know the more things change, the more they stay the same. Still congratulations Joe, you've earned it." Hirotama said as he offered Joe his hand. Joe eagerly took it and they shook. "Now go ahead downstairs to take your license photo and then you can join your fellow genin in the classroom. After getting his photo taken, Joe then went into the classroom. As he walked in, he saw the blue boy from the forest giving him an icy look which he returned with spirit. Finally, he took a seat next to Shikamaru. "So are you ready to get your assigned team?" Shikamaru whispered. "Yeah, as long as the pretty boy and his little groupie aren't with me I don't care who else I get." Shikamaru laughed. "Well don't get your hopes up. You're a good ninja, but you and I played hooky so much that our grades are in the gutter. This means that you or I may be paired with the two top students." "Well no offense Shikamaru but this is one time I feel okay hoping that you get thrown under the bus." Joe said. " And this is my best friend, thanks bra." Shikamaru replied. "Anytime Shika." At that moment Hirotama walked into the classroom holding a large piece of parchment. "Alright everybody, settle down. Now that the graduation ceremony is over with, I will inform you of your squads. As you all know, in order to develop your skills as genin, you will be split up into teams and assigned an elite Jonin to facilitate your training. Now team one will consist of…" "Okay here we go." Joe thought. "… Joe Donnelly…" "Alright now just call Shika's name and someone random and I'm in the clear!" "…Sakura Haruno..." "Dammit!" "…and Yahiko Shimazu." "Double Dammit!" Joe thought as Shikamaru stifled a laugh.

"Well this sucks." Joe thought as he, Sakura, and Yahiko were sitting in the classroom. All the other students had left with their instructors leaving Joe in the awkward position of being between Sakura and Yahiko. "I can't believe that out of every student that graduated from the academy I get stuck with you two!" Joe exclaimed. "Well it's not like it's a party for us either right Yahiko?" Sakura replied as she elbowed Joe in the face to try and get around him. "Just stay out of my way." Yahiko replied as he dodged Sakura. "Yeah Joe stay out of our way!" Sakura exclaimed. "This day cannot get any worse!" Joe thought to himself as he smacked his forehead. Just then their instructor finally walked in. He was a tall man, taller than Yahiko even standing around 6'4". He had on the green flak vest of leaf shinobi and tape on his right leg. He also had greyish silver hair which was held up at an angle by his head band. However, what was interesting about him was that his headband covered one eye at an angle and his face was unseeable due to a mask. Joe also recognized him. "You, you're that guy from earlier!" Joe exclaimed with a worried look on his face. "Yup, that's right I'm the guy with the crappy eyes." He replied. "Oh crap, I can't even tell if he hates me or not because of that mask." Joe thought. "Hello everyone, my name is Kakashi Hatake and I'm going to be your teacher from here on out. It's a pleasure to meet you all, or most of you anyway." "He hates me." Joe thought as he stuffed his head onto his desk.

After meeting his newest students for the first time, Kakashi still hadn't gotten a good read on them. So he had decided to take them outside of the classroom and have them introduce themselves. After walking for a bit, he took them to the top of the presidium where the Hokage lived and the center of government was. Sitting down he motioned for them to do the same. "All right, since we are going to be together for a while, why don't you all tell me a little about yourselves? Like your name, favorite colors, hobbies stuff like that. How about we start with you?" Kakashi said pointing to the boy on the left. "My name is Joe Donnelly! My favorite colors are black, green, and grey. I like taking hot showers and that sore feeling you get after training hard. My dream is to become the greatest ninja of all time!" Joe exclaimed. "Interesting." Kakashi thought. "Despite his background I sense no malice in his voice. He's grown up strangely." "Ok how about the lady on the right." Kakashi said pointing to the girl. She had long pink hair and was about 5'7". She also wore a red dress that went just above her knees. She had a maroon headband and wore pressure shorts and an undershirt. She had very blue eyes. "My name is Sakura Haruno. My favorite colors are pink and green. I like um never mind that's not important." She giggled. "I hate Joe!" She said with an angry look on her face. "Feeling's mutual." Joe shot back. After shooting him a dirty look she continued. "Ahem, my goal is to become a strong and beautiful Kunoichi so that someone special will notice me!" She said with a quick glance at the boy in the middle. "In other words your entire life revolves around him. Speaking of which." Kakashi thought to himself. He then pointed to the last kid with an expectant look on his face. The kid wore a crimson shirt with white camo shorts to match. He had long dark blue hair and light blue/white eyes as cold as ice. What struck Kakashi though wasn't his cool attitude, but there was something malevolent about him. "Well what's your story?" Kakashi asked. "My name is Yahiko Shimazu. That is all I'm going to say besides the fact that if anybody stands in my way, I will crush them." "Well, that's about what I expected from him, though he still doesn't seem to realize the truth about himself. That's probably a good thing." Kakashi thought. "Alright, that's enough for today." Kakashi said. "Tomorrow you are to report to the training grounds. Before we go on our first mission I want to assess what your strengths and weaknesses are. Dismissed!" After watching them leave Kakashi began to walk home.

While he walked, his mind drifted to his meeting with lord Hokage. "Welcome Kakashi, I've been expecting you. Have a seat." Sarutobi had said with a welcoming gaze. "Thank you but if it's all the same with you sir I'd prefer to stand." Kakashi politely replied. "Very well, however you are going to be here for a while." "Why did you summon me sir? Do you have a mission for me?" Kakashi asked. "In a manner of speaking, yes." Sarutobi answered as he handed him something. "These files aren't mission profiles sir." Kakashi said as he began to read through them. "Correct, those are detailed profiles on the genin who will be assigned to you in a couple of days." Sarutobi stated as he exhaled smoke from his pipe. "I want you to read them carefully as you will be spending a lot of time with them in the future." As Kakashi read further his eyes widened in realization. Shaken, he sat down next to Sarutobi. "This is madness! They shouldn't be on the same team! If he finds ou-" "Then you understand how delicate the situation is Kakashi." Sarutobi said. "If your worst fears are realized, it could jeopardize the whole village. We must tread carefully which is why I have assigned you to lead this squad." Kakashi put the files in his pouch. "I don't know sir. I'm not much of a people person. Perhaps someone else would be more qualified." "Kakashi, you are arguably our strongest Jonin and one of the Leaf's greatest assets. You know that ever since we lost the Third Great War to Kumogakure and Iwagakure our man power has been at an all-time low." Kakashi still unsure replied, "I appreciate your confidence in me but this is one mission that I don't think I can pull off." Sarutobi looked solemn as he took another breath from his pipe. "You don't have a choice Kakashi." He replied. "Because the lives of everyone in the village hang in the balance." With that, Kakashi was allowed to leave. Sighing, he headed to the academy to meet the students that could lead to his downfall.

Kakashi's mind was jolted back to the present by a familiar voice. "So Kakashi Hatake is alone on a Friday night? Why am I not surprised?" Kakashi turned around and smiled. "Ah Rin, it's good to see you again. I haven't seen you since that mission we pulled in Kumo." Kakashi watched as Rin ran up to him and grabbed his arm. Rin was an old friend of his as they had been on a lot of missions together. She had short brown hair, and purple markings on her face. She also had the deepest purple eyes. "Well then why don't we take some time to catch up? I'm all done meeting my students. Wanna grab dinner?" "Sorry Rin, I can't." Kakashi replied as he pulled his arm away. Then he hastily added, "Lots of paperwork to finish, not to mention I have an early day tomorrow." He then began walking away quickly. As he made his getaway he heard Rin say sadly, "Oh alright, maybe next time." "Sorry Rin but I can't." Kakashi thought to himself as he walked off into the distance.

The next morning, Joe got up early and did his normal routine. After eating and packing, he made his way to the training grounds in Konoha. Upon arriving, he surveyed the area. The grounds themselves consisted of different pieces of land and water. In the middle was an average sized piece of flat land, which was surrounded by forest and a lake. However, the land was littered with small trees and bushes which could be used as potential hiding spots. "Oh so you're here already. I was hoping Yahiko would come first." Joe looked up at Sakura who was sitting on one of the branches. "Why did you want Yahiko to come first?" Joe asked. "Because I want- Never mind. You act like such a little kid so you wouldn't understand." Joe with a mischievous grin said, "Or were you looking for a private moment with Yahiko?" Sakura immediately jumped up in anger and shouted, "That's none of your business! You wouldn't understand because you are wwwaaayyy too immature!" "That doesn't even make sense Sakura; you're one year younger than me." Joe shot back. He was starting to get annoyed with Sakura when Yahiko showed up. "Would you two shut up already?" Yahiko said. "Oh look, it's my favorite person in the world." Joe thought. "Honestly I hate the fact that my teammate is such a useless ninja." Yahiko said. "Oh yeah? How do you figure that Yahiko?" Joe replied. He was starting to get angry; these two were really getting on his nerves. "It's simple, not only were at the bottom of the barrel in class. But the only person you've ever fought are girls. Namely Sakura, and you can't even beat her." Yahiko said shooting him an icy look. "Well then in that case, maybe we should fix that." Joe shot back as he got into a fighting stance. "Fighting with you is a waste of time loser." Yahiko said brushing Joe's words off. However, Joe wasn't finished. "Then it won't be much of a problem for you then." Joe said as he went to throw the first punch. All of a sudden Kakashi appeared out of nowhere in between Joe and Yahiko and blocked their blows. "Hi guys, starting without me?" Kakashi said as he nonchalantly threw them to the ground. "He just came out of nowhere and then threw us like we were rag-dolls!" Joe thought to himself stunned. "Now I know you guys are eager to begin, but at least wait for me to get here before you beat the crap out of each other." Kakashi said. As Joe got up, he saw Yahiko shoot him a glare and then quickly look away. He then proceeded to stand in front of Kakashi next to Sakura and Yahiko. "Alright, nice to see that everyone is here on time. Now for today's exercise you are going to be fighting me." "But, why sensei, shouldn't we be practicing our techniques?" Sakura asked. "Now now Sakura, remember what I said yesterday. I need to understand each of your abilities. That way I will know who I need to babysit on our next mission." Kakashi answered. "I think that answer is obvious." Yahiko said. "Shut up jerk." Joe shot back. "Enough you two. Now for this exercise, I have here two bells. The goal is to take these bells away from me before the timer I have in my bag goes off." Kakashi stated. He reached into his bag and pulled out an alarm clock which he set down on a rock. "But sensei, there are two bells and three of us?" Joe asked. Kakashi, having placed the bells on his belt, looked at him, "Great observation skills captain obvious. Which brings me to the second point of the exercise. Whoever does not get a bell will have the pleasure of joining me for some extra training." "What sort of training?" Joe asked. "You don't want to find out." Kakashi said. "Do I detect a hint of a threat in his voice? I had better get a bell!" Joe thought. "Any more questions? No? Then start!" Kakashi said as he hit the button on the timer. Instantly all three of them vanished.

"Well they're well hidden I'll give them that. But their still sloppy, I already know where they are because of all the noise." Kakashi thought to himself. He knew that Sakura and Yahiko might give him a hard time because of their skills. Joe however, was a mystery. Although he had finished at the bottom of his class, according to Hirotama Joe was not to be underestimated as he had performed well on his final exams. "The only question is who will make the first move?" Kakashi thought. Kakashi than heard rustling in the bushes behind him. "This is going to be too easy." He thought to himself as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his book. All of a sudden he heard a whistle behind him. He nonchalantly ducked as three kunai flew right over his head. When he looked up, he saw Yahiko in front of him. "Attacking me directly is not a smart idea, Yahiko. In fact, it's not very ninja-like either." Kakashi cooly stated. "We'll see about that." Yahiko replied as he ran straight at Kakashi. Kakashi than blocked two roundhouses kicks and stepped back from Yahiko's punch. "Weren't you supposed to be the best in your class or something?" Kakashi said as he grabbed Yahiko and picked him up into the air. All of a sudden, Yahiko smiled. Kakashi could do nothing as he exploded into a hundred tiny bits.

"It worked." Yahiko thought as he watched the explosion from his hiding spot. What the others hadn't known was that he had been hiding before Sakura had even arrived. When those idiots saw him walking up, what they had really seen was a shadow dopple ganger. "I knew Kakashi was an elite ninja just from the look in his eye. To get those bells, I needed a good plan." The dopple ganger itself was a special decoy. He had placed a bomb tag on its shoe so that no one would notice. When the test began, he had made his dopple ganger attack Kakashi so that he could set him up. "As soon as Kakashi got in close, boom went the Jonin. I'll have to thank that loser for letting me observe him in the forest." Yahiko thought. As the smoke cleared, he noticed that there was no Kakashi remains to be seen. The only thing left was a burning log. "He must have used a replacement jutsu with that piece of wood. He's good, I'll need another plan." He thought as he resolved to bide his time and wait.

"Smart, he used that doppelganger effectively. Because he used it as a decoy, he managed to attack me and gather Intel while keeping his hiding spot secure. Not surprising considering his grades." Kakashi thought as he looked on from his bush. "Well, there's no way they're going to find me here. Back to my book." He thought to himself as he opened his book again and began to read. As he read he saw Joe leap out of the forest. "What in the world is that idiot doing? Wait a minute, he isn't going to-"

"Looks like Yahiko failed, smart though to sacrifice his doppelganger. I wonder how he hid the bomb tag?" Joe thought as the smoke cleared. He knew that Kakashi had survived simply because Kakashi had an air of power that surrounded him. "Sort of like Yahiko except less evil, and less annoying." Joe thought. "Kakashi is in a whole other league than Yahiko and I. I need a plan." Joe looked at his watch. The exercise had started at 10:00. The timer however was set for 1:00 giving them 3 hours total to get a bell. His watch said it was 11:30. "Dammit, half the time has already passed. Right now I'm just wasting time hiding. I need to flush him out of his hiding spot. Well I didn't want to use this yet but it's the only way." Determined, Joe jumped out of his hiding spot and ran in front of the field. "I'll have to put enough chakra into it and jump high enough to maximize the area of affect." He thought. Jumping high into the air, he began making hand signs. Upon finishing the signs, he shouted,"Fire-Style, Flamethrower Jutsu!" feeling his body heat up, he took a deep breath and exhaled. Out of his mouth came a great stream of fire that covered the whole area, setting the bushes and forest ablaze. "Come on sensei, where are you?" He said as he scanned the area. Finally, as the fire expanded he saw a flash of grey. He immediately drew his signature kunai and leaped towards Kakashi. "There you are sensei, I was wondering if you could come out and play for a bit." He said as he locked kunai with Kakashi. "That's impossible! Genin can't do fire jutsu, it takes too much chakra!" Kakashi said as he blocked a kick from Joe. "Whats wrong? Too hot for you sensei?" Joe said as he parried a stab. He then spun around and sent a roundhouse kick Kakashi's way. "Not bad kid, but still sloppy." Kakashi said as he grabbed Joe's leg and threw him to the side. Joe quickly rolled out of his fall and was back in Kakashi's face in an instant. They were stuck in a gridlock, struggling to overpower each other. Joe smiled. "Something funny kid? You can't keep this up all day, you're almos- What?" Kakashi exclaimed with a dumb-founded look on his face. "All according to plan." Joe thought

"This kid isn't half-bad." Kakashi thought as he threw Joe to the side. "Though a genin mastering fire jutsu is impressive, there are drawbacks." Kakashi watched as Joe rolled and then immediately closed the gap between them. Kakashi caught his punch and countered with his own but Joe managed to grab his arm. Caught in a struggle, Kakashi noticed Joe's smile. "Something funny kid? You can't keep this up all day, you're almos-" All of a sudden Kakashi felt something brush his waist. "What?" He looked behind him as Joe pushed off of him. "A doppelganger, and he's holding a bell?" Kakashi thought as he immediately began chasing after it. "He must have hid it in the lake using the smoke from Yahiko's explosion. Sneaky. Well I can't let him beat me that easily!" The clone tried to run but Kakashi was too quick and easily stabbed it with his kunai. The clone burst into a puff of smoke and he retrieved the bell. "Nice try Joe." He said. "What do you mean sensei? I still got a bell." Joe stated smugly. "Sorry, clones don't count. Only the real thing." Kakashi said then thought, "Though that was one hell of an effort." "That's fine, I'll get it back. I have to!" Joe exclaimed as he began making hand signs for his jutsu again. However, just as Kakashi had expected, nothing happened. "What, how?" Joe said with a frustrated look on his face. "Between that fire jutsu and your clone, you've exhausted your small chakra reserves." Kakashi stated. "But I was so close!" Joe said. "It doesn't matter, a ninja must realize his limits and understand what is at his disposal, than attack accordingly. By following that clone up with fire jutsu, you exposed your position and weakened your clone's effectiveness by lowering your chakra. If this was a real mission, you would be defenseless and as a result dead. You're finished, there's nothing more you can do. If you try to force that fire technique again than your chakra will reach zero and you will die. Go sit on the sidelines and consider what I have told you." Kakashi said. "But I… Yes sir." Joe replied. Kakashi watched as Joe kicked some dirt to the side and took a seat, his arms folded over his chest. "So close huh? But still a long way to go." Kakashi thought as he got back to his book.

"Fire jutsu? Joe can use fire jutsu?" Sakura thought as she watched him go toe to toe with Kakashi. "But Joe is a joke, and he almost barbecued me. What a Jerk!" Still, she couldn't believe how well he was doing. Joe had always been a loser who had rarely shown up for class. If he did, it was only to fulfill the required amount of days to graduate. Yahiko, however was different. He was smart, cool, confident, calculating, fierce, and not to mention Handsome with a capital H. "If only Yahiko would acknowledge me." She thought. "Then we could go out, get married, have kids and eeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkk." She turned pink and grabbed her face as she lost control of herself. Looking up, she saw Joe slump his shoulders in defeat and sit down, clearly finished. "Just like I thought, he's just a slacker after all." All of a sudden, Sakura heard someone scream. "Oh no, If Joe's over there, then that means…" Instantly getting up, she started to move through the forest. "Hang on Yahiko, I'm coming!" She thought as she jumped from branch to branch. "Sakura." She froze in place. "Sakura, please." Sakura looked down on the ground. What she saw nearly killed her. There was Yahiko, covered in blood kneeling on the ground. Kakashi was standing behind him with a knife to his throat. Letting out a bloodcurdling scream, Sakura fell to the ground and fainted.

Kakashi caught Sakura as she fell. "Wasn't she supposed to be good at spotting genjutsu?" He thought as he walked over to where Joe sat. "Maybe I overdid it. But still I didn't even stab him yet." Upon reaching his furious student, Kakashi put Sakura down next to him. "Watch over her until this is over." He ordered. "Well, two idiots down. Now where's number 3?" He thought. Heading back into the forest, Kakashi realized that by taking Sakura back to Joe he had made a bad mistake. He had lost track of Yahiko. "He's got to be somewhere around here, and he's only got ten minutes before the timer goes off which means if he makes a move it has to be soon. The only question is where is he?" Kakashi thought. As he walked, he felt something against his shin. "Oh no, a trap?" He quickly rolled to the side as 10 kunai went straight towards him. As he got out of his roll, he saw Yahiko come charging towards him. "Another frontal attack, if it didn't work the first time why would it work now?" Kakashi taunted. "This time's different!" Yahiko said. As he charged, he made a weird hand-sign. "That hand-sign is for shadow clones!" Kakashi thought. Then he said, "You'll need an immense chakra for that jutsu, there's no way it will work." Yahiko just smiled as 4 other clones appeared around him and began attacking Kakashi. "Three I can take, but after fighting Joe and taking down Sakura my chakra is starting to get low. He must have been waiting for me to get worn down by the others. Where the hell do these super-rookies come from?" He thought. Kakashi then jumped away as the 4 Yahiko's closed in. When he landed, he noticed that he was surrounded by a bunch of bomb tags. He quickly jumped but was thrown into the air by the blast. "This kid's planning and timing is incredible!" Kakashi thought as he back-flipped and landed on the empty part of the field. Yahiko then came out of the woods throwing two shuriken at Kakashi. Kakashi was about to duck when he noticed that the stars were heading toward Joe and Sakura. The problem was Joe was busy trying to wake up Sakura who was out cold. Kakashi was forced to catch the stars. Yahiko then closed the distance between them and began attacking Kakashi. "This is planned; he knew I would have to protect those two instead of dodging." Kakashi thought. Kakashi blocked a kick and grabbed Yahiko's foot. In order to punch Kakashi, Yahiko flipped over so that he was upside down, pulled his fist back, and changed his fist into a hand-sign. "What is he doing?" All of a sudden a clone of Yahiko appeared behind Kakashi. "Uh-oh, he's going to use his clone to grab the bells. Plus he's got me occupied with his legs." Then the bell rang and the training test was over. "Phew, saved by the bell." Kakashi thought.

"Well you must all be glad that it's over." Kakashi said as they all sat in front of him. Joe who was rubbing a bruise on his face said, "So how did we do sensei?" The reason he had a bruise at all was because of the person sitting next to him. Turns out Sakura didn't like to be woken up by being thrown into a lake. "Well to put it simply, you three are the worst genin to have ever left the academy." He said politely. "What but I actually got a bell!" Joe exclaimed. He wasn't the only one who was mad. Sakura had a furious look on her face and Yahiko was trying to burn a tree with his glare. "Oh sure, your individual skills are undeniable. You are the smartest stupid people to ever leave the academy." "But what do you mean Sensei?" Sakura asked. "What I mean is that you missed the whole point of this exercise." Kakashi replied. "And what is that exactly?" Yahiko asked smugly. "Teamwork." Kakashi stated. "Teamwork? That's it?" Sakura said. "Yes. Why do you think you were placed on squads? You were supposed to work as a team. Had you done that, you might have been able to take the bells." Kakashi answered matter of factly. "But why teamwork sensei, what's so important about that?" Joe asked intently. "Teamwork is everything. It is the backbone of our village. Missions are carried out in TEAMs. Of course you need individual skills to achieve your goals, but without teamwork, the whole mission is doomed before it starts." Kakashi than stood up. "Sakura! You went looking for Yahiko while Joe was under attack." Sakura looked at the ground in disgust. "Joe! You do everything by yourself! A shinobi coordinates with his fellow ninja in order to achieve his goals. Instead you came with a head-on attack and wasted yourself!" Joe folded his arms. "And Yahiko, you deliberately sacrificed your comrades in order to wear me down. In other words, you sacrificed them to get your own way. You were the worst of all!" Kakashi stated. Joe watched as Yahiko jumped up and began to rush Kakashi. But it only took Kakashi a second to turn around and put Yahiko in a hold. "This is what happens when someone tries to be a hero. All of a sudden the enemy gains the upper hand and you have to make a choice. For example, Sakura kill Joe or else Yahiko dies." Kakashi threatened as he pulled out a kunai knife and held it up to Yahiko's neck. Joe immediately looked over at Sakura. Her face was filled with horror. "She's not actually thinking-" Joe thought. "That's what can happen on a mission. You make a mistake and all you can do is watch as the enemy takes away your friends." Kakashi said as he sheathed his knife and got off of Yahiko. Getting up, Kakashi looked wistfully off into the horizon. "The way he talks, he must have." Joe thought. "That's enough for today. You're all dismissed. Meet back here tomorrow for our first mission." Kakashi said as he picked up his bag and began walking home. The three of them silently got up and grabbed their things. Nothing was said, as they all understood what had happened. In their first exercise as real ninja, they had failed.

As Kakashi walked along the path, he thought about how the exercise had gone. It wasn't that his students were terrible; they just weren't a good enough team. "Then again this is a special case." Kakashi thought to himself as he walked. "It's not going to be easy for those three to work together considering their history. Joe hates Yahiko because of their rivalry; Yahiko hates Joe because he thinks Joe's useless, and if I even blink Joe and Sakura will tear each other's throats out. Why do I always get the shit-jobs?" Kakashi finally reached his destination. He wasn't in the village however. "They are very promising though. Yahiko is incredible, I've never heard of any genin who could use shadow clones. Joe too is impressive; he actually got a bell on his first try, granted I was busy reading. If only they could be more like you Obito, they would make a great team. Too bad they hate each other's guts." Kakashi thought. He stayed at the spot for a couple hours, than picked up his bag and went home.

Chapter 6: The First Mission

As Joe walked to the training grounds in the morning, he couldn't shake what Kakashi had told him yesterday. "You do everything by yourself! You need Teamwork! Teamwork!" He had preached. "Easy Kakashi, I got it already. There's no reason for you to shout, especially in my own daydream!" Joe thought. "Still he's right; if we had worked together we would have gotten a bell. But can I really put aside all the trouble those jerks have caused me? I just don't know." Sighing, he thought about Ariana. "It's been three days since we last hung out. I hope she's okay, hopefully Lady Mariko lets her go out every so often." Though he had dropped in, Ariana had still been asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, he had left a note explaining that he might be gone for a while. "I wonder if she got it." He thought. Looking ahead, he saw that the others were waiting for him. "It's about time you got here Joe. Typical slacker move if you ask me, sleeping in on the day of our first mission." Sakura jeered. "And he wants me to work with them?" Joe thought, then answered, "For your information Sakura, I was doing what I always do in the morning. TRAINING. That's the difference between grabbing a bell and fainting during an exercise." Sakura immediately balled her fists on her hips. "I didn't faint, I just sort of you know….fell asleep!" She exclaimed. "Got her." Joe thought. "Oh my bad, so you were sleeping during a mission?" Joe said sarcastically. Then he added, "Typical slacker move if you ask me." Sakura glared at him and then turned around. "Ah, peace and quiet." Joe thought. "Would you two shut up already? It's getting annoying." Yahiko said as he lay on a tree branch. "Whats a matter Yahiko, pissed that you didn't touch a bell?" Joe jeered. "For your information loser, I did touch a bell and would have had one if that timer hadn't gone off." Yahiko shot back. "You know what I think?" Joe asked. "I don't care what you think." "I think you're just mad because I did better than you in the exercise." Joe stated looking straight at Yahiko. Yahiko instantly jumped up and off of the branch. "Are you saying that you're stronger than I am?" He asked. "Maybe, but there's only one way to find out." Joe said as their foreheads came together. They were now eyeball to eyeball and were shooting death glares at each other. "That's my man!" Sakura cheered pumping her fist into the air. "Kick his ass Yahiko!" All of a sudden, Kakashi came out of nowhere. "That's enough you two. I give you a whole exercise focused on teamwork and this is what you do? You're both pathetic." After separating Joe and Yahiko, Kakashi then said, "All right, now we are going to head over to the presidium." Joe confused asked, "The presidium, what's that?" Though he was looking at Kakashi, Sakura was the one who answered. "Well dummy, it's only the most important building in the village. The presidium is where the Hokage lives. It is also where the High Council meets with the Hokage in order to decide government actions and distribute missions." Sakura answered. "Thank you Sakura. Now let's get going." Kakashi said as Sakura had a big smile on her face. When they were half-way there, Kakashi turned his head and looked back at them. "By the way, Lord Hokage is going to be present handing out missions. If you want to tear each other to bits, you're going to have to wait. I want you all on your best behavior." Even though Kakashi sounded cheerful, Joe could sense a hint of a threat in his voice. He looked on his left. Yahiko had his hands in his pockets and as usual seemed calm and collected. Sakura who was walking right behind him however, was not so calm. As they got closer to the village, he could see that she was nervous. "Should I say something to calm her down?" Joe thought. She noticed him staring and glared at him. "You know what? Screw her." He thought. Then he saw it. A giant building looming in the distance in front of the Kage mountain. It was made of black marble with the flags of every major clan in Konoha hanging off of poles attached to the roof. One large banner hung down the middle with the Konoha Leaf symbol on it. Upon entering through the double doors, they went up two flights of stairs and arrived at a door guilded in gold. "All right, here we are kids. Now relax and let me do the talking." Kakashi said as he pushed the doors open.

They entered a large amphitheater filled with people. The room itself was built in a semi-circle format. The council sat in the semi-circle section with a man in a white robe sitting in the middle. From the door, there was a walk-way that led to a small platform facing the council members. "Are your orders understood Oda?" the man in white asked. "Yes Sarutobi, I understand." Joe looked to the person who had just spoken. This man easily stood out from the crowd. He wore jet-black armor that was jagged all over and had black hair with purple highlights tied into a pony-tail. He appeared to be in his mid-30s as his hair was greying at the sides. He was very tall, taller even than Kakashi standing around 6'8" and wore a long dark purple cloak. But the things that struck Joe the most were his eyes. As the man was walking out he stopped and looked straight at Joe with those blood-red eyes, sending a chill down his spine. However, Joe felt a hand on his shoulder and heard Kakashi say politely, "do you need something Oda?" The man seemed like he wanted to say something, than shrugged and kept moving until he was out of sight. Kakashi then pulled his hand away and moved to the platform, motioning for them to do the same. Once they were all on top of the platform, Kakashi began to talk. "Kakashi Hatake leader of team 1 reporting." "Ah welcome Kakashi." Sarutobi said. "Now please state the name and rank of your team and their status." Kakashi then cleared his throat. "Ahem, very well. I am Kakashi Hatake, Jonin leader of Team 1. Team 1 consists of Yahiko Shimazu: Age: 15 Height:5' "9 Weight: 210 lbs. Taijutsu: Above Average Genjutsu: Average Ninjutsu: Above Average Rank: Genin. Sakura Haruno: Age: 14 Height: 5' 7" Weight: 125 lbs Taijutsu: Average Genjutsu: Above Average Ninjutsu: Below Average Rank: Genin." Sakura turned pink as Kakashi continued. "Finally, Joe Donnelly: Age:15 Height: 5' 8" Weight: 205 lbs Taijutsu: Above Average Genjutsu: Below Average Ninjutsu: Exceptional Rank: Genin. Team 1 is ready to be deployed sir." Kakashi said as he finished his report. "Very good Kakashi, now for your mission. We have had several disturbing reports come in over the past few days concerning a small village." Sarutobi said as he took a puff of his pipe. "What do you mean by disturbing sir?" Kakashi asked. "In the land of stone, a village has been complaining of recent bandit attacks in their area. The village is new and has been receiving shipments from their daimyo in order to stay afloat." Although Joe had expected Sarutobi to answer the question, it had in fact been the man sitting next to him who answered. "Thank you council-man Takeo. As he has said the shipments are key to this village's survival. However, the shipments have been less frequent as some have not been showing up at all." Kakashi taking this in then asked, "What is the matter with the shipments?" "At first there was no evidence to explain, recently however a witness was discovered. According to him, bandits had been ambushing the supply convoys and taking the supplies. Your mission is to defend these convoys until we can send in reinforcements to wipe out the bandits." Joe was caught off guard as Kakashi suddenly protested. "Sir I have to decline. That is a C-rank mission and is too advanced for genin who are just out of the aca-" "Kakashi! Mind your tongue and know who you are speaking to!" Takeo said as he interrupted Kakashi. Sarutobi took a long breath from his pipe and then spoke,"It's alright Takeo. Kakashi, you of all people know how precarious of a position we are in. However, it goes beyond simple man-power. If we refuse missions, then we look weak in front of our enemies and they may decide to attack. Team 1 contains the top of this year's graduating ninja class and a top Jonin. You are therefore more than qualified to undertake this mission." Seeing that Kakashi was satisfied, Sarutobi than said, "You are to head out as soon as possible. Good luck." With that they were dismissed.

As they finally left the building, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "Being in front of the High Council is not an easy thing to do." She thought. "Still, if I want Yahiko to notice me I can't show any weakness!" She was nervous, though. It was her first mission and also her first time away from the village. She had never left the village in her 14 years. Her family, the Haruno clan, was not a large clan. It consisted of her mother, father, her father's parents, and her uncle's family. The Haruno clan though small, was a powerful clan. Not in ninjutsu strength, but in business. Her father was the head of one of the most successful shipping companies in the land of fire. "Which is why they never wanted me to become a ninja in the first place." She thought. She wondered if she would be okay traveling away from home for such a long period of time. "I've never been away before; I wonder what it's like outside of the village?" According to the mission file they had been given, the Land of Stone was a feeble land that was just beginning to grow. It was also in the northern part of the continent meaning that it was going to be very cold. The file said that temperatures could reach as low as -10 degrees! She shivered at the thought. They were getting closer and closer to the village gates. "Well, here we go!" She thought as she started to get excited. As they were about to leave she heard a voice call out, "WAIT!" Sakura turned around and saw a little girl with short brown hair running to catch up with them. She couldn't have been much older than 5. "Who is she talking to?" She thought. The girl was waving her hand in the air. As Sakura looked closer, she saw that there was something in her hand. "Ariana?" She looked over at Joe as he called the girl over. "Her name is Ariana? How does Joe know her?" Sakura thought. "Ariana, what's the matter is something wrong?" Joe said with a worried expression. Finally, Ariana caught up to Joe and leaped into his arms. "No dummy! I got your letter. You were going to leave without saying goodbye!" Ariana said as she squeezed tight. "Easy Ariana, I can barely breathe!" Joe said with a smile on his face. "She actually likes him? I didn't know that anyone could like a slacker like him?" Sakura thought. "That's not all, I have something for you!" Ariana said as she let go of him. She then opened up the hand she had been waving and jumped putting something around his neck. "What is it Ariana?" Joe asked. "It's a necklace. I made it just for you!" Ariana stated proudly as she landed. "You gave me one so I figured I'd make you one too. That way we would always be together! I know it's not as pretty as yours but they gave me some beads an-" "Ariana, it's perfect." Joe said as he ruffled her hair. She smiled and gave him another big hug. "Good luck Joe!" She said. With that Sakura watched as she ran back the way she had come. "I don't think she should be out on her own Joe, you know the rules." Kakashi said. Joe smiling replied, "It'll be alright, Ariana's tougher than she looks. Trust me." "Joe has a nice side? This must be some sort of genjutsu and yet…" Dismissing the thought from her mind, she began to follow the others as they left the village.

It took them a couple weeks, but they had finally reached the border that separated the Land of Fire and the Land of Stone. Kakashi looked back at his team. Yahiko and Joe seemed to be holding out okay, but Sakura was clearly struggling. "It makes sense; Sakura's strength isn't her stamina that's for sure." Looking around he decided that now would be a good time to stop. "Alright, that's enough guys. Let's stop here and make camp. Yahiko and Sakura, go grab some fire wood. Joe you stick with me." Yahiko immediately began jumping from branch to branch in search of firewood. "Yahiko, wait for me!" Sakura called out as she chased after them. Soon they were out of sight. "Alright Joe come over here and help me pitch this tent." Kakashi said motioning him over. Reaching into his bag, Kakashi pulled out a makeshift shelter kit. "What is that thing?" Joe asked. "Oh this? It's a kit containing the materials to create a make-shift shelter. It can hold up to 7 people and has a lot of space. The only problem with it is that it takes more than one person to set it up." Kakashi replied. He then removed the four rods and the fabric. "Hey sensei, why doesn't this land have its own ninja? It seems weird that they would hire us." Joe asked. As he talked, he tossed two poles to Joe and motioned him to place them in the ground. "Well, in this world there are 5 major nations. The lands of Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, and Cloud. These lands are run by Daimyo's who control the government. However, there are also hidden villages in each major land as well. Fire=Village hidden in the Leaves, Earth=Village hidden in the mountains, Wind=Village hidden in the Sand, Water=Village hidden in the mist, and Cloud= Village hidden in the clouds. There are other villages, but these are the most powerful and run the table when it comes to national affairs. The village, in exchange for money and diplomatic immunity, acts as the military arm of its land's Daimyo." Having stuck the poles in across from each other, Kakashi then handed him half of the tent cover and continued. "However, not all lands have ninja. For example, the land of stone has always received protection from the land of fire. There are also not a lot of resources in this land. In the past, this hasn't been a problem because of the Land of Fire's support. However, due to consecutive wars Konoha's strength has been limited which severely affects the Land of Fire's influence." As they finished placing the tent over the poles, Kakashi took the stakes from the kit and threw a couple to Joe. He then resumed his explanation. "As a result, the Fire Daimyo has not been able to aid the Stone Daimyo as much as before and this land has slowly grown destitute. However, I didn't keep you behind to give you a geography lesson." "What is it Sensei?" Joe asked as he pounded in a stake. "You and Yahiko are talented, but you still don't trust each other. I know that he may not be the easiest person to work with, but if you two can't work together than you risk much more than just this mission. You risk all of our lives." "But sensei-" Kakashi cut him off. "Don't give me excuses; just consider what I have told you." Pushing the stakes in, they finally finished setting up the tent. As they finished Yahiko returned, closely followed by Sakura who arrived a few minutes later. "We got the wood Sensei!" Sakura cheerfully stated. "Good work you two. Put the wood inside the tent." Kakashi replied as he motioned them all to enter. Sakura and Yahiko placed the fire-wood in the middle of the tent. Kakashi than took the extra firewood and placed them as seats around the wood. "Joe if you wouldn't mind?" Kakashi asked. "You got it." Joe than made the hand signs and blew out a much smaller stream of fire than during the exercise. The result was a roaring fire and a warm tent. They all gathered around the fire. "Thank you Joe. Now let's discuss the plan moving forward. Tomorrow when we reach the capital, Saito by the way, we will be met by our liaison. He will fill us in on what shipments we will be escorting tomorrow." Kakashi explained as the others listened intently. After stoking the fire he added, "Now I know you all want to do good tomorrow, but I want you to understand something. Because this is an escort mission, we may be ambushed during the supply journey." Joe folded his arms and proudly exclaimed, "I'm not afraid of any bandits." Sakura glared at him and smacked him in the back of the head. "DON'T interrupt Kakashi-Sensei." "Thank you Sakura, now as I was saying this is not a training exercise. Tomorrow is your first real mission which means there is much more than grades at stake. This is why I want you three to stay close to me tomorrow. Do you understand?" They all nodded their heads. "Good, now get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow!"

"Not a training exercise…" Joe thought as he rolled over for the tenth time tonight. He had never been able to sleep easily. It wasn't that he had insomnia; it was that once his mind started thinking it couldn't stop. He looked over at the others. Sakura had been out like a light. "She did seem tired today, must be because of her stamina. I'm not surprised that Yahiko sleeps with his arms crossed. What with that pole he's got up his ass." Again Joe rolled over and closed his eyes. But after a couple minutes he gave up. Quietly, he crawled out of his sleeping bag, grabbed his cloak, and left the tent. As soon as he walked outside, the cold breeze knocked the wind out of him. As he pulled his cloak tighter, his hand brushed the necklace Ariana had given him. "I wonder how she is doing?" He thought. The necklace was a simple one, a string tied together littered with gold, black, and green beads. "She knows me well though, those are my favorite colors." He thought with a smile. "You should be sleeping Joe, it's too cold to stargaze." Joe looked up as he saw Kakashi sitting in a tree. "I couldn't sleep sensei." Joe replied. "Whats a matter Joe, are you worried about tomorrow?" Kakashi asked as he looked down at him. "Nah, I know I can fight. It's just…" Joe took a deep breath. "Sensei, have you ever had to kill before?" Kakashi looked off into distance, clearly choosing his words carefully. "Joe, in this kind of life it is unavoidable. That is why the handbook tells us to detach as much as possible. If our enemy becomes more than just a face, then we start to think. When we think we hesitate, and he who hesitates loses." Joe satisfied turned around and went back inside. He silently got back into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. However, even though Kakashi had answered his question he still could not sleep. For as he tossed and turned, he wondered if he had what it took to kill.

Sakura sighed with relief as they finally reached the city gates. "Saito may not be as big as Konoha, but it's quite impressive." She thought. As they walked, Kakashi spoke, "Alright now that we are here, we are going to meet up with our Liaison at the city hall. Stick close, it can get a little rough here if you're not careful." Sakura marveled at the sights they passed by. The streets were littered with inns, bars, and shopping centers with various outlets. She knew she would be stopping by here if they were given time off. After walking for a couple minutes, they finally reached City Hall. A man standing in front saw them and immediately came up to Kakashi. "Are you Kakashi Hatake of the Leaf village?" He asked. Kakashi looked at him and politely answered, "I am. Is there a problem?" " The Leaf covers the Stone." The man said looking at Kakashi expectantly. "and the Stone nurtures the Leaf. You must be our Liason." Kakashi answered. The man visibly relaxed and answered, "I am. Welcome to Saito. Our Daimyo is expecting you." However, as the four of them began to follow the man he turned. "Sorry, for security reasons, only Kakashi may come with us. My deepest apologies." Kakashi faced his students. "That's alright." He answered. "You three go back and find one of those inns. We could be here for a couple of days so we will need a place to stay." The man than spoke, "that's already taken care of Kakashi, you and your team will be staying at the Red Dragon inn. It's the finest in the city." Kakashi satisfied said, "Why don't you three find it. Go get settled and wait for me to meet you there. I shouldn't be too long." Sakura looked to Kakashi and said, "Alright Sensei, we'll be waiting!" She watched Kakashi and the man walk into city hall. "I wonder where this Red Dragon inn is." Joe said as they began walking. "Useless as ever." Yahiko jeered as he put his hands behind his head. Joe shot him a glare. "Oh, so I guess you can tell us where it is?" He shot back. "Actually I can, I grabbed a map from the entrance." Yahiko answered. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a piece of parchment and placed it on the ground. Sakura moved next to Yahiko as Joe did the same. "Well there's City Hall, and that building there must be the Red Dragon." Yahiko said. "Let's get moving then." Joe commanded. "Who put him in charge?" Yahiko commented as he got up. "I know right, he's soooo annoying!" Sakura exclaimed hoping to get Yahiko's attention. However he ignored her and kept moving. "Hey guys, wait up!" Sakura shouted as she ran to catch up.

Joe was woken by a sudden thump. After reaching their room he had decided to take a nap. The room itself was average, with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room/kitchen. Sakura had already claimed which room was hers and by threat of death had not allowed Joe to check it out. She was in there right now un-packing. "She's definitely up to something in there." Joe thought to himself. He had claimed the couch seeing as he couldn't use the bed. Yahiko as usual was brooding in the corner for the couple hours they had been in the room. "Sakura, you ok in there?" Joe called out. "Yeah, I'm fine." She answered. "Could you keep your giant head from hitting the wall again? I'm trying to get some sleep." Joe shouted. "Up yours loser. If you weren't napping all the time then I wouldn't have woken you up!" She shot back. "She sure has been in there a long time." Joe thought. "What is she up to?" As if to answer his question, Sakura finally came out of her room. Joe upon seeing her immediately smacked his forehead in disgust. "I should've known." She was wearing a low cut sparkly dress and her hair had red highlights. She had on red lipstick, mascara, eye shadow, lip gloss, blush, eye liner…"The bottom line is she has wwwaayyy too much make-up on. This isn't going to end well." He thought. She walked right over to Yahiko and leaned real close to him trying to show off her cleavage. "So Yahiko, what do you think." Yahiko just kept staring at the wall. "He'd answer you, but he's too busy choking on your perfume." Joe joked as he started laughing. "Not to mention Sakura is a little lacking in the curves department" Joe thought. "Shut up jerk!" Sakura exclaimed as she planted a kick right in Joe's side. "Worth it." Joe thought as he smiled. Suddenly Yahiko jumped out of his seat and started heading for the door. "I've had enough waiting around, I'm going to do a little exploring." He said as he reached the door. "I'm in, it's not like Sakura will let me sleep. Besides, sensei's taking way more time than he said he would." Joe chimed in as he jumped up off of the couch then added. "And I'm starving." "Wait guys we need the map!" Sakura exclaimed as she hastily threw the map into her bag and ran out the door.

"Saito is huge!" Joe thought as they walked down the sidewalk. He hadn't expected much considering what Kakashi had told him. "Then again this is the capital city. Now to get some food." Joe looked around trying to make up his mind but there were so many places. "Geez, they sure have enough stores here." Joe wondered out loud. Then he saw it, "Alright, a steakhouse just what I'm looking for!" He roared. "Hey guys, what about that place?" He suggested. "Whatever." Yahiko said as he turned to follow Joe. "Well if it's okay with Yahiko." Sakura agreed. "All right, what are we waiting for?" Joe exclaimed as he headed over to the steakhouse. They were immediately seated and ordered their meals. "So Yahiko, is this your first time out of the Leaf?" Sakura asked, inching closer to him. "No." Yahiko said looking the other way. "You've been outside of the village? That's so cool!" Sakura giggled as she gushed over him. "Where's our food already?" Joe thought. Finally, their food arrived. Sakura settled for a salad, while Yahiko and Joe attacked bowls of Steak tips with Rice. "Alright my favorite!" Joe exclaimed as he began eating. "I wonder what's taking Kakashi sensei so long?" Sakura wondered out loud. "While he is meeting with the daimyo. They are probably talking strategy over the convoys." Joe answered as he stuffed more Steak into his mouth. "Though this place seems so great, I wonder why bandits would even consider robbery?" Sakura replied as she finished her salad. "Appearances can be deceiving." Yahiko answered. When they finished, the waitress came over and handed them their bill. Joe took out his wallet looking to pay his part of the check, when all of a sudden he heard Sakura shout. He looked over to the other side where she sat. "That brat stole my wallet!" She shouted as she started to chase him. "Someone's got to go with her Yahiko." Joe said as he jumped up and started running. Yahiko however, just remained where he was. "Well I guess someone has to stay behind, we don't want to look like we are chewing and screwing." Joe thought as he easily caught up with Sakura. "What are you doing here? Where's Yahiko?" She asked. "I wanted to make sure you didn't massacre that kid. He stayed behind, we still haven't paid the bill remember?" He answered. The kid was not too far ahead of them. As they reached a straight street, Joe sped up. "I almost have him!" Joe thought. As he jumped to tackle him, the kid ducked into an alleyway. Joe with no-one to tackle hit the ground hard. "Damn, I almost had him!" Joe said as he slammed his fist into the ground. "What are you doing? Get up he's getting away!" Sakura yelled as she went down the alleyway. "Not a chance!" Joe answered. He quickly jumped up and resumed running after him.

"There is no way this kid is getting away with my money!" Sakura thought as she hopped over a couple boxes. With Joe right behind her, they had been chasing the kid for a couple minutes. Though she and Joe were in better shape, the kid knew the back alley's well and had been able to dodge them every single time. "This kid is really getting on my nerves!" Sakura exclaimed. "Easy Sakura, we just need a way to tie up his legs." Joe answered calmly. "Good idea, I have just the thing!" Sakura replied as she reached into her pouch. "You had a bola in your bag the whole time? Why didn't you throw it earlier?" Joe said dumbfounded. "Blow it out your… never mind. Hey kid, try running from this!" She yelled as she swung the bola and threw. "Right on target!" She thought as she watched the boy fall over. She and Joe slowly walked up to him. "Alright kid, hand over my wallet." She demanded. She then grabbed the boy by his shirt collar when all of a sudden someone grabbed her shoulder. "Wait Sakura." Joe said then he turned to the boy. "Are you alright kid?" Sakura looked closer at the boy. Though it was hard to see in the dark, she squinted. The boy was very skinny, almost too skinny. He was missing a couple teeth. But what grabbed her attention were the bruises on his face. "Did I do that?" Sakura wondered aloud as her expression immediately softened. She let go of the kid. Joe answered, "No, those aren't recent. They must have happened before." Looking over to the kid, he asked "what's your name and why did you steal her bag?" The kid looked at Joe defiantly. Joe then kneeled down so that he was at the same level as the kid. "You're pretty tough for a kid! From the look of you though, you must have not eaten in days." Picking up Sakura's bag, Joe threw it to her and then looked back at the kid. "Stealing isn't the way to go kid, here you go." Joe smiled as he handed the kid some bills from his wallet. The kid took them and smiled. "Thank you mister. This will help a lot." "Next time just ask for help. You never know what could happen! See ya kid and hang on to that toughness. It'll help you a lot." Joe said as he turned around motioning for Sakura to do the same. Sakura stunned at what had just happened, eventually caught up with him. Looking over at Joe, she asked, "Why were you so nice to him? He stole my bag; we should have dragged him to the police." She questioned. Joe looking forward answered, "I helped him because I understand him." Sakura still confused thought "What is he talking about? Oh well doesn't matter. I got my bag back." After walking a while, Joe looked over at her and asked, "So where are we exactly?" Sakura rolled her eyes as she reached into her bag and pulled out her map. "That's weird." She thought as she looked it over. "What's wrong Sakura?" Joe asked. "I have the map here, but I can't find our location. It's not on the map." She answered starting to get worried. "That's because you're not in rich town anymore." Sakura looked over at Joe, "What are you talking about idiot?" It was then that she noticed that Joe was not looking at her at all, but at something else. "Uh Sakura, that wasn't me who talked, that was them." Joe replied pointing to the alley entrance. Sakura looked where he was pointing to. There was a group of four men who did not look friendly. "Well look at this boys, two lost kids." The man in front said. "The girl doesn't look happy either, maybe we should put a smile on her face." Sakura was starting to get worried. "Joe what is he talking about?" she whispered to him then said, "We are not looking for any trouble; we just want to get back to our hotel." Joe whispered back. "You don't want to know. Stay behind me." He then stepped in front of her. "Well that's too bad girl. You just found it." The man said as his group started charging. Joe immediately sprang into action as he took on all four of them. "It's like some sort of intricate dance." She thought as she watched Joe bob and weave through the men. He was starting to win the fight when all of a sudden the man whistled. "Sakura, look out!" Joe shouted. Wondering what he was talking about, she soon found out. She felt something grab her arms from behind. They had gotten her, and Joe was too busy to help.

"I'm starting to take it to them." Joe thought as he blocked a punch. "The only problem with fighting drunks is the fact that they tend to throw up when they lose." He planted a kick in one man's stomach and jumped back as the man vomited. All of a sudden he heard the leader of the group whistle. "The only reason for that is an ambush!" Joe thought. Looking over at Sakura, he saw that a couple men were closing in behind her. The problem was she was too busy watching him. "Sakura, look out!" He shouted as he ducked another punch. Seeing that she was in trouble, he tried to escape but his path was blocked by two men. Then he heard her shout, "Hands off the merchandise!" and watched as she broke free and hammered one of them to the ground. "She's persistent, I'll give her that." Joe thought as he rolled under an attacker and put him in a choke-hold. "Feels kinda weird watching someone else get hammered though, I almost feel sorry for him." He then rolled backwards and kicked, sending the man into the wall. "Almost." He said with a smile. Then he heard a scream and looked back at the other side of the alley. Though she had taken down two guys, three more had come and they were beginning to overpower her. "Damn." Joe swore as he ran to help. "I'm not gonna make it in time. I could use my kunai or jutsu, but then that would mean…" he thought. However, out of nowhere Yahiko appeared. Joe watched in awe as he took down five guys without any shadow clones. "He's even better than I am at taijutsu." Joe thought. Facing the leader of the group, Joe easily ducked under a drunken swing and hit him with a combo to the stomach, than sweeped him to the ground with a kick. "Lights out." Joe said as he finished his kick. He looked around and counted 4 men on his side to Yahiko's 5. "Damn, he beat me by one." Joe thought as he walked over to Sakura. "Sakura are you all right?" He asked. She looked fine but still Sakura was young, and she probably had no idea of how much danger she had been in. "I'm fine, and it's all thanks to you Yahiko." She giggled as she blushed and looked over at him. "The only reason I came was because you two hadn't paid your part of the bill." Yahiko replied looking annoyed. "But Yahiko you saved my life. Let me repay you!"Sakura exclaimed as she closed her eyes and leaned towards Yahiko's face. However, when she was about to touch his lips, he disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Joe struggling to control himself said sarcastically, "Hmm, shadow clone jutsu. Good for being in two places at once or in this case escaping un-wanted stalkers. Very interesti- hahahaha." He burst out laughing. Sakura shot him a dirty look as she got up off of the ground. "Anyways, we had better get back before we run into more trouble." Joe said. Sakura however ignored him. "I guess this is what they call the cold shoulder. Oh well, I actually prefer the peace and quiet." Joe thought. He then began to climb up a fire escape. Sakura looked up at him, a mixture of confusion and annoyance on her face. "What in the world are you doing?" She asked. "If we can't use the map, then we have to find another way, I'm going to the roof to see if I can't find a way back." Joe answered as he climbed. As he reached the top, he began scanning the skyline. Then he saw it, "Well there's the giant Red Dragon, I think I know where to go." He thought. Then he jumped down next to Sakura. "C'mon, I think I found our way back. Follow me." He said motioning for her to follow him. When she didn't move, he jeered, "Of course, you could always ask one of those other guys to show you the way." Satisfied that she would follow him back, he led the way.

After walking for about an hour, Joe and Sakura finally reached got back to the restaurant. Yahiko wasn't happy. "What took you idiots so long?" Sakura immediately apologized, "I'm sorry Yahiko, but we ran into some trouble and then we had to find our way back." Shrugging with an annoyed look on his face, "I just didn't want to be left with the bill." He said. After paying for their dinner, the three of them headed out of the restaurant. When they had reached the entrance, they saw Kakashi wave them over. "Sorry I'm late guys." He apologized, "How was your first time in the city, did you have fun?" Joe smiled and answered, "You have no idea."

"Sorry, for security reasons, only Kakashi may come with us. My deepest apologies." The man said looking straight at him. "Interesting. They should be fine on their own, hell they might even bond." Kakashi thought. Then he said, ""That's alright. You three go back and find one of those inns. We could be here for a couple of days so we will need a place to stay." After answering his students' questions, he followed as the man led him through the city. "Saito is an impressive city. It sure has grown since I was last here." Kakashi commented as he marveled at the sights. "Well thanks to the Leaf village's help, we have been able to prosper greatly." The man replied. "Aren't you worried that with the Leaf in the shape that it is people might try to take advantage of this prosperity?" Kakashi asked slyly. "Perhaps, but steps have been taken to ensure our protection. And we always have the Leaf village. Is that not why you all are here?" The man answered. "Here we are. The Stone Palace, home of our Daimyo. Please follow me in." Kakashi was led into a giant building with the Stone seal flag on top. Once inside he was ushered into a room, offered refreshments which he declined, and told to wait until the Daimyo could see him. Kakashi stood by the window looking out at the skyline. "This mission seems pretty cut and dry so far. However, this place seems much busier than my last mission here. It almost seems like… panic perhaps? Then again the Leaf hasn't been able to aid as much as before." He thought to himself. He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by the arrival of another person. "Kakashi Hatake is it? The Daimyo will see you now." He turned around as an aide led him into the Daimyo's chambers. "Welcome Kakashi Hatake, esteemed ninja of the Leaf. I am Lord Nobuhide, Daimyo of the Land of Stone." The man speaking to him was sitting on a lavish throne, surrounded by many advisors and one strangely dressed mistress. "Why would a Daimyo only have one mistress, and why the lack of bodyguards?" Kakashi thought as he looked at the Daimyo himself. He was a tall man and wore a hat with a glittering brown gem in the middle. Bowing, Kakashi politely replied. "Thank you Lord Nobuhide, as leader of the Leaf ninja expeditionary force I am pleased to be of service." Standing before the Daimyo, Kakashi waited for him to speak. "Very well, now that the pleasantries are finished we can get to business." The Daimyo's voice took a much more serious tone. "Now as you understand, the reason we hired you is to protect our convoys. However, I do not believe you were told much about the village itself. The reason this village is so important is because of the resources that were found there." Kakashi confused asked, "What resources?" The Daimyo cleared his throat and answered. "When we were building the city, out construction workers were involved in an accident. Three men were busy working on the crane, when all of a sudden the wire broke. The crane had been lifting some heavy logs which fell to the ground. What we learned was that the foundation was not as stable as we previously thought. The ground caved in where the logs landed, revealing the one thing we had always lacked. Fertile soil. Kakashi, I know that you must have seen the giant buildings and flashy stores on your way into the village. However, that is only the surface. My people are starving Kakashi, and I must do what is necessary to serve them. This is why I beg you to wipe out these bandits. They stand against the good of this Land's people." Kakashi scratched his head. "Well, it's a tall order sir but team 1 will do our best." The Daimyo nodded in approval. "Thank you. Kakashi, you and your men are to report to the village gates tomorrow where you will be guarding our most crucial convoy. Best of luck to you and thank you for your service to the Land of stone." Kakashi then turned to leave. However, the Daimyo had one last question for him. "By the way Kakashi, I'm curious. Were you attacked by any rogue ninja on the way here?" "No, we didn't have any problems at all. If you will excuse me, I have to get back to my squad." Kakashi politely replied. However, as he left the throne room he could not ignore the sense of suspicion that was eating away at him. "Something is wrong." He thought.

Joe yawned as he met the others at the city gates. "Your late idiot." Yahiko said as Joe walked over to them. "Yeah that's right! Why are you always sleeping in when you should be on time?" Sakura jeered. "I told you I don't sleep, I TRAIN! That's the difference between getting a be-"Joe was about to finish but Kakashi raised his hand. "That's enough you two; you can beat each other to a pulp later. We have a convoy to protect." At that moment, a man walked up to them. "If I remember right from our briefing late yesterday, this guy is the head supply overseer for the convoy. I guess he's supposed to be important or something." Joe thought. "Ah overseer Kelly, how are you today?" Kakashi asked. "I'm fine Kakashi, just anxious to get moving." Kelly replied. The convoy itself was made up of several thick flat boards with equipment attached to it on horse-drawn wagons. The equipment was tied down and covered with tarp. Kakashi then cleared his throat and waited for their attention. "All right, here's the plan. There are 3 total wagons in the convoy and four of us total. There are also 10 men seeing to the carts, meaning that the equipment is not our only priority. Yahiko, you will be on the ground. With your large chakra reserves and shadow clone jutsu, you can easily protect the workers. Joe you are going to be our vanguard. Your fire jutsu and combat skills can slow down a frontal attack. Sakura, you are going to guard the back. That way when the enemy is weakened by our attacks, you can finish them off with genjutsu." Sakura nodded, but then asked. "What about you sensei?" Kakashi answered. "I will be in the middle. That way, if anyone needs help I will be in the best position to assist. Is everything understood?" He asked looking at all three of them. "Yes sensei!" They answered enthusiastically. "Good, now remember. These people will not hold back. Protect the equipment and people, but do whatever it takes to stay alive. Don't forget, I'll be right here the entire time, now let's do this!" With that Joe jumped up on top of the first wagon and the convoy was on the move.

"I don't like this." Kakashi thought as he read his book. It had been a couple hours since they left Saito and even though there were no signs of danger, he still felt uneasy. Joe had jumped on top of the first wagon and was whittling some wood with his kunai clearly bored. Yahiko had created 4 shadow clones which he placed on each side of the convoy and was brooding. Sakura was lying down on her stomach on top of the last wagon stealing glances at Yahiko as usual. Kakashi was sitting on top of the middle wagon reading his book. "It's not that we aren't prepared, it's just that this forest is so thick that it will be hard to spot an ambush." They had been traveling by road because of the wagons. However, the road was surrounded by a large forest meaning that an ambush could come from anywhere. "Not only that, but these three aren't battle tested yet. It's not that they can't fight, but some of them lack the instinct." Kakashi thought as he turned the page of his book. After reading a couple more chapters, he heard Sakura call out to him. "Kakashi sensei! How much longer until we get to the new village?" Kakashi shut his book and answered, "There is a bridge not too far ahead that we must cross in order to get to our destination. Once we get over it we will be close to the village, hang tight Sakura we are almost there." He then heard Joe chime in, "I can see the brid-!" BOOOM "Wait never mind." Joe exclaimed as he drew his kunai. "The bridge has been sabotaged. It must be the rebels!" Kelly yelled as he brought his wagon to a stop. "Rebels?" Kakashi thought confused. All of a sudden a dozen kunai knives rained from the forest hitting the wagons. "Those aren't normal kunai, they're layered with bomb tags!" He thought as he shouted. "Watch out for those exploding kunai!" He then started to make hand-signs intent on stopping the bombs. "Water style, Water Dragon Jutsu!" As he finished signing, a puddle of water appeared in front of him. Out of the puddle rose a long snakelike liquid dragon. It was made entirely of water and it had green eyes shaped like a hexagon. Roaring, it rose into the air emerging from the puddle. Kakashi using his hands directed it to wrap around the three wagons. As a result, the bomb tags were soaking wet and could not explode. Kakashi then released the jutsu and the dragon fell into the ground instantly losing its form. That was when Kakashi saw them. 15 cloaked attackers came charging out of the woods attacking from all sides. He was about to perform another jutsu when all of a sudden he saw Joe leap into the air. "What is he up to?" Kakashi thought. Then he noticed him spinning. "Oh I get it. Nice plan." Kakashi was surprised at himself. Under his mask he was smiling.

"That's incredible, to summon that much water without a source!" Joe thought as he watched the dragon surround the convoy. Then he saw the men charge. They were coming from all sides and there were a lot of them. "I've got to slow them down, but how?" Thinking back to Kakashi's dragon it suddenly hit him. "I got it! This had better work." He crouched low than jumped high into the air. However, as he rose he rotated his legs in a split. The result was him rising in a spinning motion. Upon reaching the top of his leap, he started making hand-signs. "Fire Style Flamethrower Jutsu!" He shouted. He then blew out a large wave of fire. Because of his spinning motion, the result was a circular wave of fire that surrounded the convoy. "Nailed it! I'm the man!" Joe thought to himself as he landed on top of the first wagon. "Great plan Joe except for one little detail." Kakashi shouted over to him. Joe confused asked, "What do you mean." "Well by creating a wall of fire you have slowed down the enemy, but you have also trapped us. You see when fire touches things they tend to die." Kakashi calmly shouted back. Joe was about to answer when all of a sudden a couple of the bandits jumped over the fire. "That's impossible; the only people with that kind of agility are ninja! That means!" Joe thought. His theory was confirmed as one of the attackers who wore a black sash, pulled two Sais from his belt and jumped to close the distance. Blocking the aerial assault with his kunai, he then tried to sweep his assailant with a kick. But the attacker jumped over his kick and returned it with a kick of her own. Joe was shocked as he was knocked off of the wagon and onto the ground. "Are you all right Joe?" Kakashi called over as he threw an attacker into a man who was about to punch Sakura. "I'm fine sensei." Joe answered. "Maybe while you're down there you can tell me how the dirt tastes loser." Yahiko jeered as he double-teamed two guys with his shadow clones. "I hate you Yahiko." Joe thought as his assailant bore down on him again. "Protect the overseers at any cost. Leave the wagons to me!" Kakashi ordered as he took down two more ninja. "Easier said than done." Joe thought as he struggled with his attacker. "This guy's good. He's fast but the difference isn't his speed. Every strike he makes is a kill-shot if I don't counter." Joe then heard movement behind him and instantly ducked. Now he fought the two of them as one had snuck behind him and nearly cut him in two with a katana. Jumping into the air he tried a scissor kick. They both ducked under his kick and the katana wielder took another swipe. Joe countered by grabbing the man's sword and using it to swing himself upside down. Smiling, he held onto the sword with one hand as he grabbed a handful of dirt with his other hand. Finishing his swing, he threw the dirt into katana's face as he landed on the ground. The man was disoriented for a couple seconds and could do nothing. As Joe ducked under a stab from black sash, he mule kicked katana in the stomach sending him rolling. "One down." He thought as he faced black sash. "Your good Leaf ninja, but you're messing in affairs that do not concern you. If you back down now we will let you live." Black sash said in a dark mysterious voice. Joe determined to look strong, answered, "Sorry, but I never back down!" "Very well, you leave me no choice." Black Sash replied as he removed his sash from his waste. Then he made a hand sign. "Secret technique, sash constrictor jutsu." He calmly stated. Joe watched as the one sash became ten sashes which then became twenty. "Twenty sashes? This is going to get rough!" Joe said as he watched the sashes rear up like pythons and lunge. Back-flipping he landed on top of a wagon; he then cut three in half with his kunai. "Hah make that seventeen sashes!" He taunted. "You should worry less about my sashes and more about yourself." The man answered as he watched Joe dance. All of a sudden Joe felt a sharp pain in his back. One of the sashes had snuck under the wagon and had sliced him in the back. "That hurt, though the wound doesn't feel deep so I should be okay. The question is how did they get so razor sharp?" He thought as he dodged another. Glancing at the man, he noticed that the sashes he had cut were growing back. "The man hasn't moved and is still making that hand-sign. He must be able to control the movement and shape of the sash with his chakra. However, he hasn't attacked me with his original one yet. I wonder if that's because it is the key to controlling the sashes." He thought. Determined, he rolled back off of the wagon. However, when he fell off he grabbed the edge and swung under the wagon. "Time to put my plan into action!" He thought. Riding the momentum of his swing, he made a shadow clone under the wagon and slid out. "You can dodge all you want, but you're just delaying the inevitable. "I've got to draw his attention away from the wagon!" Joe thought as he shot back. "We'll see about that!" Running straight towards him, Joe threw two kunai. As expected, the man covered himself with his sashes. Joe then front-flipped over the man and landed behind him. "Fire-Style Fire Ball Jutsu!" Joe exclaimed as he finished signing. Feeling his body heat up, he exhaled a large ball of fire which shot straight towards the man. However, the man's shield held firm. "Just like I thought, his sashes are coated in his chakra allowing him to shield them from burning." He then smiled. "However, burning them wasn't part of the plan." The man let his shield down and looked at Joe. "Why are you smiling?" The man asked. Then the man screamed as Joe's shadow clone burst out from under the wagon and grabbed him from behind. The man then stabbed it with his sashes, but that's what Joe had wanted. Running up to the man, Joe took his signature kunai and took that precious second his clone had bought him. He sliced through the main sash of the man. Catching the man off guard, Joe used the momentum of his slash to plant a roundhouse kick to the man's side sending him flying. The man's cloak went flying off revealing the last thing Joe could expect. Dumbfounded, Joe looked at the man and said, "You're a woman?" Taking advantage of his surprise, she planted a kick in his chest sending him flying and moved to block an attack from one of the workers. Joe confused and the wind knocked out of him from her kick, asked "What the hell is going on?"

Kakashi watched Joe carefully as he took on the man with the sashes. He had been worried at first, but Joe seemed to be alright as he watched him jump on top of the first wagon. Kakashi had wanted to help but he could not leave his spot. If he went over and helped Joe mop up then Sakura and Yahiko would be exposed should they need his help. As he looked over the battlefield, he had to admit Joe had done a smart move. Even though he had trapped them, the wall of fire had kept the enemy from overwhelming them with sheer numbers. "Still, where did these ninja come from? They don't wear any headbands or any identifying marks. I also don't recognize them from the Leaf's most wanted list. If they were rogue ninja, then they would be in our bingo book." Kakashi thought as he blocked a kick from an attacker, and then punched him in the neck. "I wonder if this has anything to do with the Daimyo's question earlier. I knew he was hiding something. The question is what?" Kakashi looked around after pushing the man aside. The battle was just about over. Sakura and Yahiko had taken down the attackers who had gone after the workers well he had focused on the wagons. Despite a couple bruises here and there, it seemed like everything had gone well considering it was their first time in real combat. Kakashi hopped down to where Yahiko and Sakura sat, carrying the incapacitated foes with him. The workers were also there standing behind the Leaf ninja. "Is everyone alright?" Kakashi asked. Sakura looked up at him and answered, "Yes, we had a few concussions among the workers. 5 were knocked out but everyone else is fine. Though that loser still hasn't finished yet." The three of them watched as Joe was sliced in the back by one of the sashes. "Sensei." Sakura said, "Perhaps you should help him out?" Kakashi answered, "No, he's stronger than you think Sakura." Watching Joe swing under the wagon, Kakashi then turned to Kelly. However, one last bandit jumped from under the second wagon and went to attack Kelly shouting, "This is for my starving family!" as he charged. Kakashi who was still holding the captives could do nothing as he expected Kelly to be cut in two. Blood hit the ground, but it was not Kelly's blood. As Kakashi looked on in surprise, he saw Kelly turn and stab the man in the throat with a Kunai knife. "That was no random strike Kelly. That was a surgical blow, a technique taught only to ninja. What is going on here?" Kakashi demanded as he dropped the bodies and moved between Kelly and his students. "Ah Kakashi, I'm sorry but that is classified information. You see, the Land of Stone is no longer taking orders from the Land of Fire. By the way our Daimyo wanted us to tell you something." Kakashi looked around as the five remaining workers stood up and began to advance on the three of them. "And that would be?" Kakashi asked. Kelly then moved his hand in an attack signal and began to charge. "Your contract is terminated!" He taunted as he raised his kunai to strike Kakashi. Kakashi lifted his headband above his right eye.

They had been cut down within seconds. Kelly had barely blinked as Kakashi had sliced four men in the span of five seconds. He had been a blur going from man to man. First Hizashi had fallen from a strike to his throat. Then Kakuzu, who had been cut down so fast that his body was still in motion. Finally Hidan and Getsuo had been cut down at the same time. "And then there was one." Kakashi said menacingly as he slowly walked to Kelly. "Please Kakashi, I surrender don't kill me!" Kelly pleaded. Kakashi stopped, then lowered his headband so that it covered his right eye. "Alright Kelly, but if you so much as blink then you will join your "friends" in an instant."

Satisfied that Kelly would no longer be a problem, Kakashi then looked over as Joe joined them. Kakashi saw him drop the body of the woman in front of him. "Is she alive?" He asked Joe. "Yeah, she fought one of the worker ninja but collapsed afterwards. She should wake up soon though."Kakashi then kneeled down to wake up one of the bandits. However, he failed to notice Kelly creeping closer to his students. "Letting me live was a foolish mistake Kakashi! Now watch as I slit this woman's throat!" Kelly yelled as he held the sash woman in a head-lock. There was a look of pure fear in her eyes as she was jolted awake by Kelly's action. Kakashi looked up; there was nothing he could do. He was too far away to help and Yahiko and Joe were out of chakra. He watched as blood stained the ground for the second time.

"I killed him." Joe thought in horror as he looked at himself. He was standing behind Kelly, his signature Kunai lodged in Kelly's back. He pulled his kunai out and watched Kelly fall to the ground. Sakura had a look of horror etched on her face as she covered her mouth. The woman had fainted, probably from the combination of the fight and what had just happened. "Why?" Joe asked, "Why didn't you just give up? Why did you betray us?" Joe asked as he looked down at Kelly. Kelly coughed up some blood, then answered, "For my country and my family I give my Life!" With those last words, Joe watched as the light left his eyes. Kelly was dead, and it was his fault. "I never meant to kill him." Joe said as he looked down at his hands. "He said that he had family, did he have a son?" Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and walked over patting Joe on the back. "Good job Joe, you acted like a true ninja." Joe turned around batting Kakashi's hand to the side as he walked. He couldn't look at the body anymore, it disgusted him. "Yeah right." He replied as he walked away from the others. "Even though Kakashi called me a true ninja, I know what I really am." He thought to himself as he tried to wipe Kelly's blood off of his hands. "A Murderer."

Chapter 7: Joe's Pain

"Alright you three, I have a training exercise that I want you to do." Kakashi said as he stood in front of his students. It had been 2 days since they had left Saito and since then a lot had changed. "Now you three proved you can fight, but this is different." Sakura raised her hand and asked, "How so sensei?" "Fighting ninja is a completely different playing field then simple bandits. Bandits can't shoot giant balls of fire at you for example." He walked over to a tree and continued, "In order to fight ninja, you must be able to call upon your chakra. However no matter how great your chakra level is, if you cannot properly control your chakra then you will wear yourself out too quickly. Chakra is used for a variety of techniques. It can be used to increase your strength, speed, and agility to advanced levels. It can also be used to perform jutsu. But if you want to master control, the best way to use your chakra is to climb." Demonstrating, Kakashi began walking up the tree. Sakura gasped in amazement, but the two others simply looked on. "In order to climb these trees, you need to draw chakra to your feet and maintain it. Draw too little and you will fall. Draw too much and you will also fall. Now everybody pick a tree and see how high you can go." With that they each picked a tree and started to climb. As he watched them train, he thought about all that had happened in the past two days. After Kelly had died, it had been obvious that the Daimyo no longer "required" their services. Kakashi had decided to camp out around the wagons and interrogate the girl. Setting up camp in the woods, they had watched her until after a couple hours she woke up. "Where am I? Who are you people?" She had asked. "I am Kakashi Hatake, Jonin of the Leaf village. My team was hired by the Daimyo to guard these convoys from an attack. Though as you can see, I don't think the Daimyo wants our help anymore." Getting up, he grabbed a spare canteen and offered it to her. "Would you like some water? You've been out for quite a while." She knocked the canteen aside with her head. "Untie me now!" She demanded, struggling against her bonds. Kakashi's voice took a threatening note, "I don't think so considering you tried to skewer one of my students." He then spoke in a lighter tone, "However, the Daimyo betrayed us. There is something strange going on between the ninja who attacked us on both sides. You appear to hate the Daimyo, so talk and I will listen. If what you say makes sense, then perhaps we can reach an agreement." The woman at first stayed defiant, but eventually the defiant look left her face and she began to talk. "What you don't know about our Daimyo is that he is not as benevolent as you think. When the Leaf cut our funding, the country nearly collapsed. However, along came Nobuhide riding on his white horse promising to fix the country. He said that all he needed was our full cooperation so we gave it to him." She looked down at the ground and then continued. "We put our trust in him, and at first it worked. By giving him full control of the government, the Stone was able to recover quickly as he cut worker's wages and raised taxes effectively turning us into slaves. We built great skyscrapers and casino's. However, when the time came for power to be handed back over to the people, he refused to let go." Kakashi looked at her and asked, "So why didn't you take it back?" "It was not that simple. With the Leaf withdrawing support, Nobuhide told us that as our own nation we needed to be able to defend ourselves. So he started recruiting ninja." She answered. Kakashi immediately protested, "But that's against the treaty signed by our two nations! Though that does explain a lot." The woman continued. "By the time we realized his true intentions, it was too late. The ninja he had gathered were kidnapped as children and brainwashed to be loyal to the Daimyo. I have heard that their training was truly terrible. Not all of them joined him however. When he refused to give power back, there was a fierce civil war between the new ninja corp. Half sided with the Daimyo, the other half sided with freedom. However, the Daimyo's group was victorious leaving the freedom group to flee and scatter into the forest. Victorious, the Daimyo was consumed by corruption forcibly starving his people through oppression and increasing his wealth and power as much as possible." She said. "So the two factions were the ones we fought yesterday." Kakashi mulled over as things started to make sense. Coming to a decision, he picked up his kunai and began moving towards the woman. She had a look of fear in her eyes; however she was not his target. Reaching over her back, he cut her free. "You're freeing me?" She asked bewildered. "If what you say is true, then we no longer have any quarrel. Well that and the fact that he lied about the equipment in the wagons." Kakashi said as he sat down again. He then held out the canteen to her again. This time she accepted taking bug gulps of water. When she was done she tossed the canteen to the side and looked over at him. "What do you mean he lied about the equipment?" Kakashi picked up the canteen and put it away, then answered. "After the ambush ended, I had my students investigate the wagons while I set up camp. We were told that they had found fertile land and we were to guard farming equipment. Instead we found TNT and Drills, or in other words mining equipment." Her eyes lit up, "That fits our intel for this op. According to our spies, some workers stumbled upon a diamond mine during construction of the new village. My guess is that you would have been killed upon reaching the village. Then he would have blamed the death on the bandits and the Leaf weak as it is could not conduct a thorough enough investigation." As she finished speaking, Sakura said, "Look out she's free!" Kakashi looked back at his students. "Relax Sakura, she is not our enemy anymore. Why don't you three go look for some firewood okay?" Kakashi reassured her. As they left, the woman watched them. "That boy the one I fought, he's strong for his age." She said looking at Joe. "Well he didn't exactly have a normal life; his parents were killed during the war. However, he doesn't let that keep him down. His dream is to become the strongest ninja in the world someday." The woman looked sorrowful, and then turned to Kakashi. "I know how it feels to grow up alone." Kakashi looked away, then answered. "He isn't exactly outgoing, but he seems okay." The woman however shook her head. "I would keep a close eye on him Kakashi, some people bottle up their emotions especially men. They tend to hide their feelings because of their pride." The sad look left her face as she looked up at him again. "So what happens now?" Kakashi answered, "Well, it seems the Daimyo no longer requires our services. Would you happen to know any rebel groups who need help." Smiling, she answered, "I might. My name is Kai by the way. If you truly wish to stand with us, then we might as well get to know each other. I have a feeling we are going to be seeing a lot of each other in the future."

"Dammit!" Kakashi was jolted out of his memory by the sound of Joe cursing. "He seems to be struggling. I know that his chakra control isn't great, but still he should be able to get higher than just three steps." Kakashi was worried about Joe. Ever since Kelly had died, he had been acting strangely. "Hey slacker, If you were as good as me you'd be up here by now. I guess I'm just a better ninja?" Sakura taunted as she sat on top of a branch smiling. It wasn't surprising that she had been the first one; Sakura out of all three genin had the best chakra control. What was surprising was Joe's response. "Sakura, shut up." Joe said. Normally Kakashi would have just let this slide as Joe and Sakura tended to butt heads on a daily basis. However, this time there was a viciousness to Joe's words. Sakura must have noticed it too, because instead of shooting some insult his way, she instantly became quiet with an alarmed look on her face. Kakashi sensing trouble immediately took over the situation. "That's enough for now. Everyone knows what this exercise requires. We have all had a long day, let's go back to the village and get some rest." He commanded. They all walked back to the village in silence. Kakashi looked over at his students. Yahiko as usual was minding his own business. Sakura however, kept glancing over at Joe with a worried look on her face. But as he looked at Joe he saw that his face wore a blank slate. This was strange because though Joe was not exactly the life of the party, he was not really the strong silent type either. The village that they were heading to was supportive of the freedom fighters and doubled as their headquarters. When they reached the village, he saw Kai wave him over. "Our leaders are ready to speak with you about our plans." She informed him as she motioned for him to follow her. "Excellent, Yahiko, Sakura, Joe, you three head back to our shelter and get some rest." He followed Kai through the village streets. "This is a nice village. I will have to thank them for their kindness." Kakashi politely complemented as he walked with Kai. "Well Miami is not exactly Saito, but it is still a beautiful place. I remember spending the summers here swimming in the ocean." She said as her eyes drifted off for a second. "You used to come here?" Kakashi asked carefully. "My family had a summer house here for a while." She answered wistfully. "What happened to them?" Kakashi asked. Kai was about to answer but then stopped walking. "Here we are." She said. "But this is just a bar." Kakashi commented as he followed her inside. Kai walked up to a wall inside and began to knock. "When the Daimyo was rising to power, these bars were used to hide children from his inquisitors. Now we use them as supply holds, war rooms, and even shelters." She explained as she knocked. Except this time the sound was different. Kakashi watched as she pushed the brick she had knocked further into the wall. All of a sudden, half the wall rotated leaving an opening for them to walk into. Kakashi entered through the opening and was greeted by three people sitting around a table with a map in the center. They all wore the grey striped black cloaks which Kakashi associated with the resistance. One man who sat in the center, had scars all over his face and had clearly seen a fair share of action. He immediately rose and offered Kakashi his hand. "Ah so you must be the legendary Kakashi Hatake of the Leaf. I am Connor, council member of the Resistance. It is a pleasure to meet you. These are the other council members Siri and Tatsuka." Kakashi taking the man's hand replied, "The pleasure is mine." Connor then pulled two chairs to the table and motioned for him to sit. "Take a seat Kakashi, we have much to discuss." Kakashi and Kai sat down at the table. Looking at the map he noticed that there was something underneath it. "What is it you wish to discuss?" He asked. Siri answered his question. " Kakashi, for years we have been under the oppression of a corrupt leader. He has taken advantage of our trust, our wealth, and our lives. He has had plenty of chances to change and has failed. Therefore, he must be overthrown." She then looked straight at him and asked. "Kakashi, we need your help to save our people." Kakashi put his hands in front of him saying, "Look, I don't have any love for the Daimyo. However, unless I receive specific orders telling me otherwise my job is to report to my superiors." Though he wouldn't mind putting the Daimyo in his place, he could not cross the treaty. Not until he had orders anyway. "I think this may change your mind." Tatsuka said as he handed Kakashi a set of files. Kakashi looked over them. "This, these are!" Kakashi exclaimed as he got up from his chair. Connor waited for him to sit and then began to talk. "Those were recovered from our spy within the Daimyo's inner circle. He was eventually hunted down. However, he managed to relay those plans to us before he was discovered. The Leaf is not the only weak country right now. With the recent civil war, the Daimyo's power has been weakened. As has the rebellion's. However, with the discovery of the Diamond mines the Daimyo has seen an opportunity. Using slave labor, he will be able to open these mines and take advantage of the resource. With his increased treasury, he will raise an army and as you can see from those files; begin his invasion of the Leaf." Connor finished. Kakashi listened until Connor finished talking then asked, "Can I hang on to these files?" Connor nodded. "We have already made a copy. Kakashi, will you help us?" Kakashi stood holding the files, "I don't know if I can assist you in this war, but I promise you that my superiors will see this." Kakashi answered as he walked out into the darkness, the Daimyo's dirty work in his hands. Reaching the hut they had been given, he saw Sakura and Yahiko sound asleep on different sides of the room. However, Joe was nowhere to be found. "I wonder what he's up to?" Kakashi thought as he left the hut.

"Gather the chakra to my feet, and then climb." Joe thought as he once again tried to reach a branch. However, he only got three steps before he fell flat on his butt. It was starting to anger him. He had been practicing all night, but was still struggling. Even though Kakashi had told them to sleep, whenever he closed his eyes all he saw was Kelly. He was standing over him, a pool of blood which painted the once-green grass. He looked around for what had caused the hole in his back, however the only one who held a knife was him. Joe immediately shook his head, pulling himself out of his nightmare. "I already have one nightmare. No reason to make anymore." Joe said to himself as he again began to climb the tree. The result was the same however, as he fell again. "Dammit, what am I doing wrong!" Joe shouted in frustration as he smashed his fist against the tree. All of a sudden he heard a voice come from nowhere. "That's one hell of a dent, though It's got nothing on the one inside of you." Joe wheeled around drawing his kunai, then relaxed. "You've really got to work on this ambush greeting thing, it's not the best way to start conversations." Joe said sarcastically as he sheathed his kunai. "It's not my problem that your detection skills aren't that great." Kai shot back as she walked up to him. For the first time Joe got a good look at her without her cloak. She was around 5'10" in her 20s, with long brown hair and very orange eyes. She also had quite the figure. Noticing him staring she said, "Like what you see? Sorry, you're cute, but you 're a little young for my tastes." Joe immediately looked away. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he went back to his training. "I was worried about you." She answered as she walked over to him. Joe winced in pain as she put a hand on his back. "You really shouldn't be training, especially with that injury." Joe knocked her hand aside. "No thanks to you." Kai immediately pulled her hand away. "Oh right, sorry." She apologized then said as she watched him train, "Kakashi told me about your parents." Joe backed up to get a running start, and sprinted at the tree. "So, I got over them a long time ago." He answered a couple steps from the tree. Kai answered, "I lost my parents too you know." Joe stopped in his tracks. "What? What happened?" Kai leaned against a tree and replied, "Well after the Third Great War, the Leaf village withdrew support from the Land of Stone. In response, the Daimyo began to recruit his own ninja under the guise of protecting our lands." Intrigued, Joe folded his arms and listened intently. "However, that was far from what he really wanted. The Daimyo had seized a lot of power during the reconstruction period after the war and he had no intention of giving it back. In order to consolidate his power, he hired a famous rogue ninja to train his ninja army." "Train them for what?" Joe asked. Kai looked down at the ground. "Suppression. They were trained in counter-intelligence for one purpose: to prevent any usurpers to the Daimyo's power. It was much worse than that however, for the Daimyo wanted absolute loyalty from his private ninja army. Which is why he set a condition for the recruitment of his ninja." Joe sensing a hint of pain in her voice asked, "What sort of condition?" Kai had a distraught look on her face as she continued to look at the ground. "That all prospects must be children under the age of ten." Shocked, Joe replied, "That's terrible! Why would he want to do that to children?" Kai continued to stare at the ground. "Children are much easier to mold then adults. In the case of the Daimyo, they were the perfect recruits for his army. Children were dragged off of the streets, out of orphanages, and even out of homes. They were beaten, tortured, and fed one line constantly; The Daimyo is everything." She answered with disgust. Suddenly it dawned on him, the skills, the powers, the emotions. Even the concern, "You're one of those children aren't you." Joe stated as he looked straight at her. "When I was 5, within the first year of the "peace" brought on by the end of the war, they came. When my father refused to let them enter, they broke down the door. He tried to fight them off, but there were too many of them. They beat him into submission, and then they came for me. As I was carried out of my house, the man in charge stated that because my father had resisted he was to suffer the penalty of treason: Death. They set the house on fire, saying that it would be an example to all who opposed the new regime, and as I was carried away I watched my home, my parents, and my life burned to ash. All I could see was that sadistic smile on his face" Kai finished as she brushed her hand past her eye. "Was that a tear?" Joe thought, then asked. "So then how did you escape?" Kai looked straight at him, all trace of sadness gone from her face. "I grew tired of running, taking the beatings, the abuse. So I revolted. Using what they had taught me, I hid a shard of broken glass in my mouth. When the guard came to take me for indoctrination, I slit his throat. I sneaked out, and eventually fell in with the resistance." "You killed? But you weren't even ten?" Kai looked right into his eyes and stated coldly, "It doesn't matter; I will make them pay for every single life they ruined. And that goes double for mine!" Joe mulled over her words. However, he still was not satisfied. "While, I'm really sorry about your parents Kai believe me. But that still doesn't explain why I can't master this technique." He said as he again backed up from the tree. He ran again but the result had still not changed. He couldn't climb it. He hissed in pain as his back landed on top of a rock. "It's your pain. Not your physical pain, but your mental pain." Kai answered as she offered him a hand. Joe looked up at her face. It was full of concern as she helped him up. "Pain what do you mean?" Joe asked. Kai looked at him and answered with a worried tone. "Kelly. You are a skilled ninja for a rookie. But you are still a kid. Yesterday you killed for the very first time." Joe then shrugged her off as he faced the tree again. "What does it matter? Ninja are meant to be killers; if I had not killed him then you would have died." Joe said talking to himself more then Kai. "But that is not the entire reason why you feel guilty." Joe stopped running and looked straight at Kai. "Why would I feel guilty!" He shouted. However, though he yelled at her, Kai simply looked at him with concern and answered, "Because Kelly said he had a family, and you feel that you have doomed his children to feel our pain." Stunned, Joe put his hands on his knees and looked down at the ground. "The reason why you can't balance your chakra, is you can't balance yourself." Kai stated as she walked over to him. However, Joe brushed his eyes with his arm and walked away into the darkness.

Kai chased after Joe. But it was no good. Though she had hoped that confronting him would help him overcome his guilt, it seemed that she had only made things worse. "He is a strong kid too. But underneath it all I see is pain. Perhaps he is not ready to become a ninja?" She thought as she watched him fade into the darkness. "This is the Daimyo's fault. If he had not forced Kelly to attack children, then this would not happen. Joe needs to learn that to overcome his pain, he has to harness his anger." Kai then clenched her fists and vowed, "I will make the Daimyo pay myself for all the lives he has ruined. And I promise you Joe, that I will shove my blade through his chest personally!"

Chapter 8: The Calm Before The Storm

Kakashi instantly woke up. He heard a banging sound of a door and immediately grabbed the kunai under his pillow and stood up. However, it was only Joe who had entered their hut. "Where have you been all night?" Kakashi asked. He got a good look at Joe's face. His eyes were red and he had dark pools under them. Obviously he had been out all night and had not gotten much sleep. However, his expression showed no sign of wavering as he answered, "That's none of your business Kakashi." Concerned, Kakashi was about to remind him who he was talking to when all of a sudden he heard a bird call. Looking over at the window, he saw that a messenger hawk had flown inside the hut. "Joe's talk will have to wait, this must be the answer from the Leaf." He thought as he untied the letter that was bound to the Hawk's leg. Opening the letter, he read it carefully. "While, I was expecting a response but not this. It can't be helped though." Getting dressed, he then waited for his students to get ready. Kai had also woken, and was busy preparing breakfast. Sakura and Yahiko came out, but Joe was still in the other room. "What's taking him so long." Kakashi asked as he leaned against the wall. Sakura answered, "His wound somehow reopened last night. When we got up he was wrapping fresh bandages around the wound. Honestly, he's so weak that he can't even sleep without hurting himself right Yahiko?" Yahiko ignored her as he sat down at the table. Kai however, immediately jumped to Joe's defense. "He wasn't sleeping last night, he was training. He was out in the forest trying to master that chakra control exercise!" Yahiko interceded. "It doesn't matter. If he wasn't a slacker then he never would have gotten injured in the first place." That got Kai's blood boiling. "You two are the most selfish kids I have ever met! You have no idea over what kind of pain he is goin-" "I know full well what his pain is." Yahiko coolly interrupted. This time however, instead of staring at the wall he looked right into her eyes with a powerful stare. Kai instantly went quiet. Both she and Sakura wore confused looks. "And you're supposed to be his team-" "Kai that's enough!" Joe interrupted as he entered through the door. "So you were training all last night? Did you succeed?" Yahiko asked glaring over at Joe. "Of course I did." Joe answered smiling. Kakashi then cleared his throat. "Ahem, now that everyone is here, I have something important to tell you about our mission." Joe took a seat next to Kai and looked towards Kakashi. "A couple days ago I sent out a messenger hawk carrying a letter to Leaf command. The message included the betrayal of the Daimyo. It detailed the ambush, the Daimyo's private army of ninja, the rebellion, and the plan to attack the Land of Fire. Today I received the response." Holding the letter in front of him he began to read. "To Kakashi Hatake, leader of squad 1. You have done well to see through the fog of deceit that this new Daimyo has placed. Considering that the factors have changed, so have your mission parameters. You are hereby ordered to aid the rebel faction in overthrowing the corrupt Daimyo to preserve the Land of Fire. Though you are an inexperienced squad, you must do this without expecting reinforcements. Best of luck in your mission. Sincerely, Leaf High Command." Kakashi finished as he looked down at his students. "Well there you have it. Your first mission is to take down an evil warlord. Not bad for a squad of ninja in diapers." He stated scratching his head. "Well then let's get started." Yahiko answered. "Not yet, I still have to inform Connor and the other members of the resistance. Then we can begin planning." Kakashi replied as he got up. "I'll go with you Kakashi. They'll want me to help lan the attack as well." Kai chimed in. With that Kakashi, closely followed by Kai, left the hut.

As soon as they had left, Sakura heard Yahiko ask Joe, "So you really mastered your chakra control huh? I doubt it." Joe shot a glare at him and fired back. "Can you prove that Yahiko?" "I don't have to; I can see it in your eyes." He smirked and then continued, "You're still acting like a baby over killing Kelly." Joe immediately stood up. "I wouldn't insult me if I were you." Joe shot back. "Don't forget which one of us actually got a bell in the exam, while the other one threw his teammates to the wolves." "Not this again, they've been worse than ever these past few days." She thought as she said, "C'mon guys that's enough." Yahiko got up and started walking for the door. "Let's settle this Joe, come." He beckoned. Joe got up and followed him outside. "Wait for me guys!" Sakura called out as she chased them. Yahiko led Joe and Sakura outside of the village and next to the woods. Finally he stopped. "So you brought me into the woods so no one would see me kicking your ass. You're smarter then I thought Yahiko." Joe jeered as he began stretching. "We're not going to fight idiot, you're not worth my time. You and I are going to play a game in order to see who is stronger once and for all." He stated. "They're not going to fight? Phew, I was worried that they were going to kill each other." Sakura thought as she let out a sigh of relief. "Fine, what sort of game is in that twisted mind of yours?" Joe asked. "Simple, whoever destroys the most trees wins. I'll even let you go first." Yahiko answered. Joe smiling, answered "All right Yahiko." Then he moved in front of the trees. "Is he going to use fire jutsu?" Sakura thought as she looked over at him. Joe then started to make his hand signs. "Fire Style Flamethrower Jutsu!" He exclaimed as a wave of fire started come out of his mouth. Something was different this time though. Instead of the large wave that usually came when Joe performed fire jutsu. There was a small burst of fire and then nothing. Sakura looked over at Joe who was dumbstruck. "Classic slacker move. You were training my ass!" She said. Instead of firing back at her, Joe shouted in frustration, "What the he-" All of a sudden Yahiko moved in front of him. "Is he making hand-signs?" Sakura wondered out loud in amazement. "Wind Style, Wind Scythe Jutsu!" Yahiko coolly stated as he finished signing. All of a sudden, there was a big gust of wind. Sakura had to grab her skirt as it passed her. All of a sudden the trees in front of Yahiko began to split in half. Eventually the wind calmed down, and Yahiko relaxed. "You can use wind styl-" Joe said as he was interrupted. "Shut up loser, and look into my eyes." Yahiko said as he turned around and faced Joe. "Do you see me wavering, cowering, or hiding because I killed? This is the fundamental difference between you and me." Turning around he began walking away, then looked back at Joe. "You're weak, and you always will be. I will never respect you because you lack what it takes to become a ninja." With that he left. Sakura was a little shocked, "I've never seen this side of Yahiko before, he's so… cool!" she thought. As she went to follow him, she heard Joe cursing in frustration. She ignored him however, for she only had eyes for one man.

Kakashi followed Kai into the Rebel leadership council room for the second time. Connor, seeing him enter got right down to business. "Any word from Leaf command?" He asked hopefully. Kakashi handed him the letter. "There you go Connor, Squad 1 is at your disposal." Connor looked over the letter. As he read it a smile grew on his face. "This is great news Kakashi! We need your squad for our plans to work." "What plans are we talking about?" Kakashi asked as he sat down. Placing a map on the table, Connor began to explain. "We have been fighting the Daimyo for years, and both sides have been bloodied form the battle. However, the Daimyo still has the upper hand." He then scratched his chin and continued. "At first, the Stone Ninja corps consisted of 30 ninja. However, during the schism half of the ninja sided with myself and the other half with Namikaze." "Where have I heard that name before?" Kakashi thought to himself. "Namikaze… You don't mean Dillion Namikaze?" Kakashi asked. Connor lit his pipe and answered, "Yes. When the Daimyo first began to build his ninja corp, he hired two ninja to train the recruits. One of them was Dillion Namikaze, the Slayer of the red earth." Kakashi began to remember the name. "I've heard of him. He is an S ranked ninja of Iwagakure. He was one of their top prospects and slayed many Leaf ninja during the third great war." Connor nodded. "Yes, until he went rogue. Not much is known why as the Tsuchikage has not stated any reason. However, he is incredibly dangerous and now acts as the Daimyo's personal bodyguard." Kakashi then asked, "So what happened during the schism?" Connor took a breath and continued his story, "The two sides clashed in the castle of Saito. However, we were evenly matched as both sides were nearly wiped out. In the end, it was only Namikaze and I." "So what happened?" Kakashi asked as he listened intently. "I was defeated. I am getting too old for this fighting business Kakashi. My youthful days are nearly at an end. Namikaze had his blade at my throat. But then he let me go, saying that I wasn't worth the effort to kill. He looked at all the men he had slaughtered, a sadistic smile on his face, and walked away. And I was forced to watch my country suffer at the hands of a tyrant." Kakashi looked over at Connor. He had a sad look on his face as he stroked his goatee. Then he smiled, "But that is going to change, starting now!" Kakashi asked, "So how are you going to take an entire land?" Connor's face took on a serious look as he answered, "Before we had no chance at even getting close to the Daimyo, however you and your squad have provided us with a golden opportunity." He then pointed to the map. "Here is our plan, it is a two headed strategy. I will take the majority of our forces and attack the new village in two days' time." "So where do we come in?" Connor pointed to a spot on the map. "You and your team will be here, in Saito. Once I take the new village, the Daimyo will be forced to send his forces to reclaim it because of the Diamond mines." Kakashi was still skeptical, and asked, "How can we get into Saito? He must know by now that Kelly failed." Connor smiled, "That is where you are wrong. There were no survivors from the ambush. You can go back to Saito with Kai as your "prisoner" in order to catch the Daimyo off guard." Kakashi convinced replied, "That's a good idea but let's take it a step further. The Daimyo is going to be careful with your attack and Kelly dead. The mining equipment should still be in good shape. My squad and I will take Kai and the equipment back to the Daimyo. I will tell him that we were ambushed and the crew was killed, but we managed to save the equipment. The reason we are going back is that because Kelly was killed, we were lost. That should ease his suspicions. He will be happy to see the equipment intact and sealed." Connor scratched his beard again, pleased. "That would also explain the time gap as well. I like it." "The other thing is I want you to wait a couple more days until you attack. If you wait until after we enter Saito that will give us more time to prepare for the coup." Connor satisfied answered, "Then it is agreed? The Leaf covers the Stone," Reaching over to shake Connor's offered hand, Kakashi replied, "And the Stone nurtures the Leaf." Shaking hands the deal was done. All that remained was the Coup De Tat.

Sakura re-adjusted her kunai holster as she sat on a wagon with Yahiko. They had been traveling for the whole day to Saito and were nearing the village. Even though they had wagons, the equipment had slowed them down tremendously. "How the hell did my first mission turn out like this?" She thought to herself. She had never expected that she would end up overthrowing an entire government. "Still, at least I get to spend time with Yahiko." She thought with a smile as she stole a quick glance at him. "So Yahiko, are you worried about our mission?" She asked sweetly. Yahiko simply ignored her, lost in his own thoughts. Disappointed, Sakura looked away. "Why does this always happen? Why is he always ignoring me?" She thought as she looked down. Then she blushed thinking, "Don't they say that when people treat someone poorly, that they actually like them? Maybe that's wh-" She was about to finish her thought when Kakashi called over to her from the leading wagon. "Sakura, we're getting close to Saito. You're the best at chakra control. I need you to check the Tarp and make sure that it is sealed tight. This trick won't last long if the enemy notices that we looked." "Okay sensei!" Sakura replied as she got up from her seat. Gathering her chakra to her feet, she began to walk on the side of the wagon as it moved. "You know, this isn't the first time a man has tied me up. Especially not one as cute as you!" Sakura heard Kai say as she reached the third wagon. "Shut up! I'm not doing it for that, I'm doing it for the mission!" Joe answered defensively as he stopped tying Kai up with rope. The rope itself however was special. It had been weakened so that should Kai get into trouble, she could easily break it. "While they sure have gotten buddy buddy all of a sudden." Sakura thought as she yelled, "If you're trying to pull some sort of perverted move on Kai, then I'm going to kick your ass!" Kai added, "That's ok Sakura he's not my type anyway. Besides, I prefer guys who are willing to TALK about what's bothering them." "That's it! Tie yourself up if you like it so much!" Joe exclaimed as he stood up and folding his arms, faced away from Kai. "That's enough you three, we're here." Kakashi stated. They all got into position; Kakashi in the first wagon, Sakura and Yahiko in the second, and Joe standing with his kunai at Kai's neck in the last wagon. As they approached the city gates, they were stopped by the guards. "Halt, what is your purpose for entering Saito?" Sakura watched as Kakashi handed the man his papers. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. We are Leaf ninja who were hired by the Daimyo to escort this equipment to the new village. Unfortunately, we were ambushed on the way and the crew was killed." Sakura wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. "They're never going to buy this, we are screwed!" She thought panicking. The man then went inside the sentry post and spoke into his radio. "Is he calling for help?" Sakura thought as her hand went to her kunai. But it never reached it as something blocked her. Looking up at Yahiko she saw his hand holding her arm. "Sakura calm down, you are going to blow our cover." He whispered to her. Holding back a scream, she blushed. "HES TOUCHING MEE!" She thought to herself. "He must care about my safety, which means he cares about me!"

Yahiko seeing Sakura reach for her Kunai, moved in front of her to shield his reaction. He then grabbed her arm. Annoyed, he warned, "Sakura calm down, you are going to blow our cover." Then thought to himself, "What is wrong with this girl? She was supposed to be a top academy student but now she is completely useless. Well she's not going to get me killed, that's for sure." Seeing her blush he smacked his forehead. "Man my teammates suck." He looked over at Kakashi. The guard had left his booth. "Well everything seems in order here." The guard said as he handed Kakashi's papers back to him. "The Daimyo has requested that you leave the equipment at the gate, and that you report to him later tonight. He wishes to hear the story of your escape." Kakashi politely bowing answered, "Very well, c'mon guys lets head out." They were just about to leave when the guard noticed Kai. "Who is that?" He asked, drawing his sword. Kakashi replied, "She is a prisoner we took, one of the bandits that ambushed us." The guard walked over to Kai and Joe. "Give her here son, I'll take care of this scum." Joe seemed reluctant to let her go, but after a quick glance from Kakashi, released Kai. "The Daimyo will be pleased with your efforts. As for you, you will pay for your crimes!" He threatened as he dragged Kai off. "I'll get the bastard." Joe whispered as he clenched his fists. "Shut up loser, you'll break our cover. Besides, you don't have the balls to kill him anyway." Yahiko whispered. Joe shot him a dirty glare which he returned. "He's never going to change." Yahiko thought as the four of them headed to their hotel.

Kakashi took a deep breath as the four of them were led into the Daimyo's chamber. Even though he was calm, he still knew that this was a crucial moment in the plan. "If the Daimyo doesn't buy my story, then this whole plan is ruined." He thought. "Ah, the hero returns unscathed. So Kakashi, what brings you back here? I thought you had died?" The Daimyo said as he greeted them. "Of course you would think that." Kakashi thought to himself as he smiled and replied, "No, I'm afraid I'm not that bad of a ninja. By the way, these kids are my students. Your excellency, meet Joe Donnelly, Yahiko Shimazu, and Sakura Haruno, the other members of Squad 1." Each of them bowed as they were introduced. The Daimyo could care less as he hastily asked. "Great great, now tell me how you survived the ambush?" Kakashi politely answered, "Well before we crossed the bridge, it was blown up into many tiny pieces and we were ambushed by a group of rebels." The Daimyo leaned forward in his throne. "Aaannnddd?" He asked urging Kakashi. "Well we managed to protect the equipment, but the workers unfortunately were killed. I'm sorry but this team is till inexperienced and they weren't able to protect them." Kakashi answered scratching his head. "They're not going to be happy about that comment." He thought smiling under his mask. The Daimyo sat back in his chair and looked at his mistress. Boredom in his voice he said, "Oh good, well since the convoy has yet to be delivered, I guess you are still under my employ." Kakashi nodded saying, "You got it." "Well then you are to report back to your hotel room until further notice. That convoy has to reach the new village, and this time Kakashi please make sure to protect the workers as well." He ordered as he dismissed them. Kakashi turned around and began walking out when Joe suddenly asked, "What about the prisoner? Where is she?" The Daimyo insulted by his rudeness, was about to yell at him when all of a sudden his mistress pushed him back into his seat and walked over to Joe. "Aren't you the feisty one? I like feisty men, they're much more interesting." Looking back up at the Daimyo, she requested, "Why don't you tell the boy what we did with that rebel whore." At first he looked stunned, but then he straightened his robe and answered, "As per all rules regarding rebels, rebellion is considered an act of treason resulting in death. She is to be publicly executed in two days." Then he asked, "Is that a problem?" Joe smiled evilly, "Nah, She was a real pain on the way back. I wanted to make sure that she got hers." The Daimyo laughed and replied, "I like you kid, I'll make sure she pays for what she's done. You can count on it." "Nice work Joe." Kakashi thought as they walked out.

"Well, what do you think?" Nobuhide said, addressing Namikaze. "Hard to tell, Kakashi is a powerful ninja and his genin are inexperienced. However, do not underestimate him. Kakashi could take this whole city if he wanted to." Namikaze answered. "But why tell them about the girl?" Nobuhide asked. "Simple, I wanted to gauge his reaction. Kakashi may be able to hide his own feelings, but his students are fresh out of diapers." The Daimyo then leaned forward and asked, "And what did you learn?" Namikaze smiled, "That he cares about her. The fact that he asked so brashly means that he's having trouble controlling himself right now." The Daimyo leaned back in his chair. "Then it's a given, they will betray us. We should kill her immediately." Namikaze responded. "I don't think so, not yet anyway. We don't know that they will betray us yet." The Daimyo was about to speak but Dillion held up his hand, "If they do betray us, we can use her as insurance. If she is in danger, that will draw out his students. When they are drawn out, Kakashi's guard will be down." The Daimyo stroked his chin, "Very well, I like it. The execution will happen in two days. This will force their hands. If they do nothing, then there is no betrayal and Kai's fate is sealed."

As soon as they got back to their room, Sakura smacked Joe in the back of the head. "You heartless idiot, how could you say something like that." However, Joe shrugged her off and then looked outside. Kakashi looked around the room and when he gave Joe the ok he answered, "It was the only way to find out what they were going to do to Kai without blowing our cover. Now we have a dead-line. We have to attack before the execution or else Kai is doomed." Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Good work back there Joe, though we have a problem." He said. Joe immediately looked over at him and asked, "What do you mean a problem?" "Well, I thought they would give her more time. Generally, Stone law states that a trial must occur in order for the execution to be ordered. Connor won't be attacking for another four days." Joe had a worried look on his face. "Then I'll go back to the HQ and let him know!" He exclaimed as he started for the door. Kakashi however, blocked his path. "I'm sorry Joe, but you can't. If any of us leaves here, then the Daimyo will get suspicious." Joe would have none of it however, and tried to get around him. But, Kakashi was also resilient, "Joe I know you want to help Kai, but there is nothing we can do. If we leave or break her out then we risk the entire mission. I know how you feel b-" Kakashi was shocked as Joe looked right into his eyes and coldly stated, "You have no idea what I'm feeling right now." Then he walked to the balcony. "Where are you going?" Sakura asked. "Relax, I'm not leaving. I just need some air." Joe replied as he jumped onto the roof. "Sorry Joe but my hands are tied." Kakashi thought to himself, trying to ease the pit in his stomach. But it was no use. "Dammit."

"Finally, nightfall." Joe thought as he slipped out from under his covers fully dressed. He had been waiting for Kakashi to go to sleep before he made his move. Quickly packing, he jumped onto the roof and was about to head out when all of a sudden he heard, "I knew you were up to something." He instantly turned around. "Oh crap, busted before I even left the building." He thought, then he said, "What are you doing up?" Sakura answered, "I figured you would try to leave, what after looking at how you threw yourself after her." Joe was annoyed. "First off, the whole insomnia act is my thing not yours. Second of all, I don't have time for this." Sakura looked at him seriously and asked, "Why would you risk our safety for hers?" Joe answered without even thinking, "Because she needs my help. I don't care if I have to go 150 miles in two days." He looked at Sakura and continued. "Kai needs me. It's not because she and I are a thing, we aren't. It's because she's my friend, and I won't let her be sacrificed." He found himself surprised at what he was saying. But it was the truth, "Kai, though a revenge driven mess, still reached out to me. I can't let her down!" He thought as he looked at Sakura. She looked like she was deep in thought. "This is really weird though. In fact, why the hell hasn't she punched me or anything? What the hell is going on right now?" He looked around, he knew that he had to get moving before Kakashi woke up or else he was screwed. "Alright." Sakura stated. "Look Sakura, I don't car-… Wait what?" Joe asked dumbfounded. "I won't tell Kakashi." Sakura answered. "Oh… Cool, well see-ya." Joe replied. However, as he turned he felt something grab his ear and pull hard. Sakura said, "Hold it slacker, I'm coming too." For the second time in one night, he was completely stunned. "Oww, What why?" He asked rubbing his ear. "I can't let you go alone, not with your back injury, your total lack of directions, and one other thing." She answered as she started walking back to their room. "What other thing?" He asked. "I owe you one for helping me get my bag back earlier. I figure this ought to make us even." She answered not turning back. Joe shook his head and thought, "She's a shifty one, that's for sure."

Kakashi watched as Joe hopped onto the roof. "I knew it; there was no way he was going to just listen to me like a good little rookie. He's just got to play the hero." Then Sakura came out of nowhere. "What is she doing up?" He thought. As he listened to their conversation, he mulled over his options. "I don't want Kai to die, but if our cover is blown then we are all in trouble. I would probably be ok, but the rookies. No it can't be helped. Sorry Kai." Making up his mind, he was about to move in when all of a sudden, he heard Joe say, "She is my friend, and I won't let her be sacrificed." Kakashi looked at the ground. He couldn't do it. Stopping Joe from going would be doing the exact opposite of what he had preached during the exercise. Plus he knew too well the pain of losing a friend. For a moment he pondered going with Joe but then shook the thought from his mind. "I can't leave, especially if he leaves. But he can't go alone, he's still not 100% and not just because of his back injury either." Kakashi thought. He had hoped that his talk with Joe about killing would have solved the first kill syndrome. But it was obvious that this wasn't the case. Still something had to be done, Joe could not leave by himself. "Hold it slacker, I'm coming too." Sakura said. Kakashi was shocked. Sakura had always been hostile to Joe, either yelling at him or flattening him outright. Then he heard her say, "I owe you one for helping me get my bag back earlier. I figure this ought to make us even." Hearing this he smiled, "Perhaps they were listening to me after the exercise." Turning around, he began walking back to the apartment they had been given. "If we're going to be down two members, then I've got a lot of work to do." He thought, then looked up into the sky and back into his past. "Always playing the hero."

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Sakura came back out onto the roof. "Took you long enough." He commented as she walked over to him. Re-adjusting her bag, she looked over at him. "Still not as late as you usually are." She shot back. "Just shut up and follow me. We can't leave here just yet." He said as he began to run across the roof. "What do you mean?" Sakura asked confused. Joe jumped to the next rooftop and answered, "There's someone I need to talk to first." She followed him from rooftop to rooftop until they stopped near the village gate. The guard was taking a nap inside his post. "Here, put this on." Joe commanded as he pulled two masks from his bag. "Where did you get these?" She asked as she watched him pull it over his head. "I borrowed them from Kakashi." Sakura balled her hands on her waist, "By borrowed, you don't mean stolen do you?" She asked with disgust. "If they realize who we are, then this whole mission is finished and Kai won't be the only one dead. These will cover our entire heads protecting our identities." Joe answered. Sighing, she pulled the mask over her head. After she was covered, he threw something towards her. In her hand was a thin rope made of nylon, a substance which was nearly unbreakable to most regular cutting methods. "A rope line, Why?" She asked confused. Raising one hand to quiet her, he said, "When you see my hand raised, pull." Then he jumped down to the guard post. The guard himself was absent from his post. "Where could he have gone?" Joe thought as he searched around. It was dark out which cut visibility, however Joe's eyes were beginning to adjust. Slowly creeping outside the gate, he heard the guard complaining, "I hate this cold weather, would it kill the Daimyo to have a bathroom installed at the guard post." Joe looked to his left. "As usual, nature calls at the worst times." Joe thought with a smile. Slowly, he creeped behind the man and drew his Kunai. "I know you're busy, but finish up quickly. I have some questions I want to ask. Shout for help, and I'll plant this in your throat." Joe threatened as he put his kunai against the man's throat. Shaking, the man quickly pulled up his pants. "Please don't kill me, I have a family." The man pleaded, clearly petrified. "Good, he bought my bluff." Joe thought. He then put his signature kunai in his mouth, and pulled two throwing stars. Aiming carefully, he threw them. The man closed his eyes as the stars went around him… and around him and around him. He soon found himself tied up in a thin but strong rope. "I thought you weren't going to kill me!" He panicked, his eyes wide with fear. "Relax, we're going for a walk." Joe answered as he dragged the man into the town. Stopping in front of a building, he raised his hand. Immediately the guard was slowly dragged up to the top. Joe then went into an alley-way and jumped from wall to wall until he reached the rooftop. "You know, If I knew that you were going to make me do all the grunt work I would have stayed with Kakashi." Sakura said as she struggled to pull him up. Joe ran over to her and grabbed the rope. "I didn't expect him to be this heavy, they must have changed the guard detail since this morning." He answered as he pulled. After a couple seconds, they managed to lift him to the rooftop. "Well now what?" Sakura asked. Joe walked over to the man and held him by the rope upside down. "Our chunky friend here is going to answer some questions." Joe answered as he walked towards the edge of the roof. Holding the rope, Joe asked, "This morning a prisoner was delivered to Saito by a group of Leaf ninja, is this true?" When the man kept silent, Joe loosened his grip on the rope, causing the man to fall a couple centimeters. "I don't know, the guard details switch out every 12 hours noon and midnight." Joe then applied the pressure, "Whether you were there or not doesn't matter. You are in charge of who stays and who goes; you must know where they keep prisoners of war. Tell us!" Joe demanded. The man answered, "I told you I don't know!" Getting frustrated, he tied a piece of cloth to the man's mouth. Then let go of the rope. The man plummeted and was about to hit the pavement, when all of a sudden he stopped. Joe, holding the rope, slowly pulled him back up. "Ready to talk?" Joe asked the man. The man glanced down at the ground, then nodded. Joe reached for his head and pulled out the gag, then folded his arms and looked at the man. "I don't know about her specifically, but any captured rebels are kept at the Daimyo's castle in the North Tower." He answered with a frightened look on his face. Satisfied, Joe began to untie him. "Are you letting me go?" The man asked hopefully. "Something like that." Joe answered as he signaled Sakura. Sakura walked forward making a hand-sign. Joe looked at the man, he had a blank stare on his face. When she gave him a nod, Joe then picked him up and jumped down to the street. Placing him in the guard post, he turned to Sakura. "Which genjutsu did you use?" He asked as they began climbing up to the rooftops. "I couldn't erase what happened, but I did make him see some crazy things. He'll probably write it off as a nightmare." She answered. "What kinds of thing?" Joe asked curious. "Well if you want I could…" Sakura offered as she began making a hand-sign. "Never mind." Joe answered. With that they began heading for the castle.

Sakura followed Joe as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop. After traveling for a couple minutes, they reached the castle walls. "Looks like we're here. Now to find the north tower." Joe stated as he looked at his watch. "What are you doing?" Sakura asked, skeptical. "My watch has a compass built in, one of the reasons I bought it." Joe answered, then pointed to a tower to their right. "North is that way, which means that must be where they are holding Kai." They quickly moved in front of the walls. Sakura looked up at the tower. "That's got to be a 40 foot climb." She guessed, then with a sideways sneer to Joe, "Sorta sucks if you can't chakra climb." Joe however, was completely serious. "I'll live." He answered as he pulled out several kunai. Sakura watched as he threw them two by two into the wall until he had made a neat line up to the window in the tower. "Race you to the top!" He said as he began jumping on the kunai. "That's not fair!" Sakura shouted indignantly as she began running up the wall. When she reached the top, Joe was waiting for her. "I win." He said smirking. "Wipe that stupid half-smile off your face, you cheated." She shot back as she pulled her mask off. Shrugging, Joe pulled off his own mask then looked at the barred window. "Kai, Kai, are you there?" Joe called out. Kai came up to the bars. "Hi guys, welcome to my new home. Wanna come in?" She asked with a smile. Sakura put her hand to cover her mouth as Kai came into the moonlight. Her face was bruised and battered. "What have they done to you?" Joe asked an undertone of anger in his voice. "Well they politely asked me to reveal the location of the rebel base. When I politely refused, they asked again just not as politely as before." Kai answered. The signs of torture were obvious to Sakura, she didn't need to explain any further. "What are you guys doing here anyway? The attack isn't for four more days." Kai asked changing the subject. "Kai, the Daimyo has set your execution date." Joe answered looking grim. "So, let that bastard decree whatever he wants. It won't matter in four days." Kai replied confidently. Joe looked over at her, his face full of concern. "Kai, the execution will happen in two days." Sakura looked at Kai, for a second all the cheeriness that she had had a moment ago left her face. "Oh…that's not good." Joe, hearing the emptiness in her voice reacted immediately. "Sakura and I are going to warn Connor so he will attack in time." He said. However, Kai disagreed. "Joe, you can't. If you leave, then you will risk the mission." She said calmly. "But if we do nothing then you will die." Joe answered, as he folded his arms. "My life doesn't matter, only the Daimyo. The Daimyo must die Joe, no matter what the cost. Remember our talk in the forest?" Kai stated coldly as she looked at him. "What did she say to him?" Sakura thought confused. She looked over at Joe, wondering what he would say next. His eyes were closed in contemplation as if he was considering his words carefully. "Kai, I'm sorry but your answer isn't good enough. I'm still not sure that killing for revenge is justified." Joe answered, looking over at her. "How can you say that after what he did to me?" Kai asked angrily. "What is she talking about?" Sakura thought. Joe looked away from her. "I don't know Kai, it just feels wrong. I feel wrong right now, ever since that moment." He answered, then added, "But it doesn't matter, I'm going to save you no matter what it takes." He boldly stated. Kai looked away, and Sakura saw her brush her eyes. "So you insult me for wanting revenge, and then say that you will save me? You're an interesting man Joe Donnelly." Then she turned to him, "But irregardless, I will avenge my family. So stay out of my way." With that, Kai turned away. However, Sakura stopped her. "Kai wait, I know it's not much but here." Reaching into her bag, she handed Kai some food and her spare canteen. Grateful, Kai said, "Thank you Sakura. I'll share these with some of the other prisoners." Surprised, Sakura asked, "There are more of you in there?" Kai nodded answering, "Yes, some political prisoners, thieves, and even some children." "Children?" Sakura thought, disgusted. "That's terrible, who would want to enslave children?" Joe looked at Kai and said, "I promise you, I'll be back." After a wave from Kai, they began to climb down. When they reached the bottom, Sakura said, "The Daimyo sure is evil. I can't believe he would actually imprison children!" Joe looked off into the night sky and answered, "You don't know the half of it." Confused, Sakura was about to ask him what he was talking about. However, Joe had already put his mask on and jumped to the next rooftop. "Wait up!" Sakura exclaimed as she did the same.

Kai watched them leave as she handed out the food provisions. Her thoughts drifted back to what Joe had said. "Is my reason for wanting to kill the Daimyo really wrong?" She thought to herself as she stared at the food. "There's no way, not after what he did to me. Not to mention what he did to all of those kids." She hadn't expected to be doubting herself. When she had seen Joe kill Kelly, she could see the pain in his eyes. Knowing what he felt, she had wanted to help him get over that pain. "He's a good ninja, but the first kill is always hard. I thought that by talking to him, I could help him accept that killing comes with the job. You just need a reason to explain it to yourself. But… the pain is still there." Suddenly she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked outside the window and saw a shadowy figure jumping across the rooftops. "No regular person would travel by the rooftops. They can't be shadowing Joe and Sakura." Running to the window she struggled against the bars, but it was no use. She was trapped, and there was no way she could warn Joe and Sakura.

Chapter 9: Race Against Time:

As they neared the gates, Joe checked his pack to make sure that they were prepared. "What's in the bag?" Sakura asked. "Just the basics; Food, water, sleeping bag, a tent, extra shuriken, and medical supplies." He answered as he closed his bag. "By the way, that was a nice thing you did." Joe said complementing Sakura. Sakura put her hands on her hips, "Why do you sound so surprised?" She asked, a hint of a threat in her voice. "I never knew that you had a nice side." Joe replied as they started jumping from branch to branch. Sakura got defensive, shouting, "I'm always a nice person, just not to assholes." "Not so loud Sakura, you'll blow our cover." Joe said, then added, "So then why did you almost flatten that kid?" Sakura answered, "Because he stole my bag. That bag had some important things inside of it." Curious, Joe asked, "Like what?" Sakura smiled, "Well for starters, it had my head-band in it. Don't forget that I dressed up to look good for the restaurant!" Smiling knowingly, Joe asked, "Just the restaurant?" Sakura shot him a glare and answered, "Yes just the RESTAURANT. Nothing ELSE." Putting extra emphasis into her words. Joe covered his mouth to muffle his laughter. "She sucks at lying." He thought. "Anyways, it also has my diploma from the academy." She said finishing her explanation. Joe looking indifferent said, "You kept that piece of paper?" Sakura glared at him, "Of course I did, that paper proves to my parents that-"Sakura abruptly stopped talking. "Proves what to your parents?" Joe asked, carefully prying. Sakura looked away and answered sadly, "Never mind." After a couple silent minutes, Sakura asked, "Are you sure we can get there in time? It took us a couple days when we left with the convoy." Joe jumped off a branch and answered, "Yeah, but we had mining equipment remember? On our own, it should only take us about half a day or so to reach the encampment." Sakura still unsure said, "I know that, but I really want to save Kai." Surprised, Joe looked back at her. "That's strange, I thought you hated her." Sakura answered, "To be fair, she did try to kill us." Then added, "But she seems like a nice person." Joe started to laugh. "What's so funny?" Sakura asked. "Nothing, it's just the way you said it. Though I guess it is kind of strange considering she stabbed me in the back. But, she's my friend and I won't let her down." Joe answered. With that they continued into the darkness of the night.

Sakura yawned as she followed Joe. They had been traveling for several hours and the sun was beginning to rise. "Of course, if we had slept at all then we risk Kai's life." Sakura thought. She looked up and landed on a branch as Joe abruptly stopped. "What are you doing?" Sakura asked confused. "We've covered enough ground for now. Let's stop here and rest." Joe answered as he jumped down from the branch. "Finally!" Sakura thought as she landed next to Joe. "This guy is such a slave-driver I thought we would never stop." She pulled her cloak tighter as a cold breeze blew past them. "You cold? Here I got it." Joe said as he broke some branches. Arranging them into a pile, he did his hand-signs. When he blew however, it was still a weak stream. Sakura sat down by the fire, warming her hands. "Still can't control your chakra huh? Why is that, you didn't have trouble against Kakashi?" Sakura asked. Joe who was busy pitching the tent answered, "I'd rather not talk about it." Sakura however, wouldn't let him off that easily. "Did it have anything to do with what she said at the tower? About her and you talking in the forest?" Joe answered, "It's complicated, but what we talked about was her feelings on the Daimyo." Sakura looked back at the fire, "He's avoiding my question." She thought, "Come to think of it, he hasn't been himself since he killed Kelly. Then again I shouldn't pry." Joe finished pitching the tent, and then sat down opposite Sakura to tend the fire. "So why does she hate the Daimyo so much?" Sakura asked. "I wonder if he'll answer?" She thought. Joe looked at her as if sizing her up, and then answered, "Well, it's a long story." Telling her about Kai's childhood, he finished by saying, "that's why she wants to kill him so badly." Sakura shocked replied, "That's terrible! No wonder she was so serious at the tower." Then after a couple seconds asked, "So what will you do? Will you allow her to kill him?" Joe looked down at the ground, a conflicted look on his face. "Sakura, I don't know. I know that shinobi are supposed to be killers, but I just can't see a reason for it." Joe had a pained look on his face as he finished. "There's more he's not telling me, but I know he won't talk." Sakura thought, yawning again. "Why don't you get some sleep Sakura? I'll take the first watch." Joe said as he tended the fire. "You sure? You don't look so good." Sakura replied. She was tired though, she wasn't used to being awake this late. "It's alright, I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway." Joe answered with a smile. "If you insist." Sakura said as she walked into the tent. Looking behind her, she saw Joe jump up to a branch and pull out his kunai, whittling away at a piece of wood.

Joe looked at his watch. It had been about four hours since Sakura had gone into the tent. "We're gonna have to get moving soon." He thought as he blocked his eyes from the sun. He was about to wake Sakura when all of a sudden he heard a rustling sound. Smiling, Joe jumped down to the fire, and quickly grabbed a burning branch and threw it into the bushes. All of a sudden a figure wearing a black cloak and a special mask jumped out of the bushes. He drew a sword and began to charge. Blocking his strike with his kunai, Joe said, "I recognize that mask, you're a tracker ninja aren't you?" The figure asked, "How did you know I was following you?" Joe ducked under a side-ways slash, then planted a kick in the man's chest sending him on his back. "It was simple, you were sloppy especially for a tracker ninja. Hell, I felt so bad for you that I even stopped to let you catch up." Joe answered with a cocky grin. However, that changed when he saw that the man had landed next to the tent. "I've got to get him away from there! Sakura's still sleeping, she won't stand a chance!" Joe thought as he reached into his pouch. Pulling out a pair of shuriken, he put his signature kunai in his mouth and jumped towards the tent. Throwing the shuriken at the man, Joe came down with a kick. The man was forced to jump away from the tent. As Joe landed next to the tent, he smiled. It didn't last though, for the man had thrown another kunai knife at him. "Is that all?" Joe taunted as he was about to jump out of the way, then he noticed something that wiped the smile off of his face. "That kunai has a bomb tag on it! If I dodge it Sakura's a goner." He thought. Jumping into the air, he kicked it to the side. Then it exploded. Still mid-air, Joe was thrown into a tree by the shockwave from the explosion. "What's that sticky substance?" Joe thought as a sharp pain shot through his body. Reaching behind him, his fingers were coated in some liquid. He realized that it was his own blood. "Blood? That slash wound that Kai gave me must have been re-opened." He thought. Choking on the smoke from the bomb, he picked himself up. All of a sudden the man jumped through the smoke sword raised. Joe reacted, rolling under the man's jump. For a moment everything froze, he had won. The man was standing with his back to Joe. His sword was mid-slash and there was no way he could recover in time. Joe was about to finish him when all of a sudden he saw his kunai. It was covered in blood, "Just like when I…" Joe thought. While he was distracted, the man turned around. "Big mistake kid." The man said as he raised his sword. Joe was thrown out of his thoughts as he watched the sword slowly come down. "Damn, I got distracted!" Closing his eyes, he waited for the cold steel to finish him… and waited, and waited… But it never came. He looked up, wondering why his head was still attached to his neck. Sakura was standing behind the man, her hands forming a hand-sign. "Did…did you?" Joe asked. She had a scared look on her face, "No I…I didn't, couldn't kill him. I just used a genjutsu, erased his memory." She answered, her hands starting to shake. Joe quickly composed himself, "Must be from the adrenaline rush." He thought. As he grabbed his bag, Sakura asked, "Joe, what's wrong with you?" Joe looked away, packing up the tent. "I'm tired of being weak!" He thought as he finished. Sakura then noticed his back. "You're hurt." She stated. Mad at himself, Joe answered, "Thanks captain obvious!" He then reached into his bag and pulled out some fresh bandages. Wrapping his back and torso, he then asked, "How long will he be out for?" Sakura answered, "A couple hours." Finishing up, he threw his over shirt on and pulled his black cloak tighter. "C'mon, we've got to get moving." Joe said as he jumped up to the trees. Sakura simply followed him.

After traveling for half a day, they had finally reached the rebel encampment. Sakura looked over at Joe. After the attack, the rest of the journey had gone in silence. "He seemed nice at first, but then he turned back into a total jerk!" She thought as she glared at him. "So what's our next step?" She asked. "What do you think? We need to talk to Connor." Joe coldly answered looking away from her. "What is his problem?" She thought. "Well screw him, if only Yahiko were here. He wouldn't treat me lik… well I'd have something to stare at, at least." Sakura thought sadly as she looked at the ground. "We're here." Joe stated with his hands in his pockets. Looking up she saw the hut where Kakashi had walked in on their first day in the village. As they approached the building, the two guards standing in front of the door moved to block them. "Halt, no-one is allowed to see the General." They stated. Though Sakura stopped, Joe just kept on walking. "If you step any further, we sha-." Giving them a cold look, Joe said, "I'm not in a good mood. Move aside!" The guards took one look at his eyes and then moved out of the way. "Did something happen to him during the attack?" Sakura wondered as she followed him. When they entered, she saw a table surrounded by two men and one woman. They were all dressed in combat gear and were looking at a map. The man in the center got up. "You, you're that Konoha kid Kai was talking about. What are you doing here? Was your squad discovered?" He asked. "No Connor, we're not the ones in trouble." Joe answered addressing the man in the middle. Then looking down, he added, "Kai is." Connor immediately asked, "What do you mean?" Sakura answered, "Kai is going to be executed in a day and a half unless we save her." Connor began to understand. "Yes, but if you attempt a rescue then your cover will be blown. Plus, you can't attack until I draw their forces away." Connor said. Joe leaned against the wall. "So, you'll attack tomorrow then?" He asked, a hint of hope in his voice. Connor stroked his chin then answered, "No I will not." Sakura was shocked, Joe was worse. "Are you kidding me? Why?" He exclaimed, clearly frustrated. "Did we come this far for nothing?" Sakura thought. Connor looked Joe straight in the eyes. "I can't do such a thing. If I attack without gathering my forces and planning then-" Joe would not hear it. "Then what? Kai dies because you're too afraid to act?" Joe asked as he slammed his fist against the wall. Connor was surprised. "What do you mean afraid?" Joe looked right at him. "I know all about your loss to Namikaze. Kakashi told me about it." Connor stood up, furious. "You shut up, why would that make me scared!" Joe answered, "Because you lost every single one of your comrades that day, and to you their sacrifice was in vain because you failed." Connor was silent for a moment, clearly affected by Joe's words. He stared down at the ground, as if trying to avoid Joe's stare. Then Sakura saw him pull a cloth out of his pocket and wipe his glasses. "Was that a tear?" She thought as Connor looked back at Joe. "You're right son; I lost my closest friends that day. I had to watch as children who were put under my responsibility fought each other to the death. Children who had been beaten and fed a constant stream of lies." He said sadly, but then his voice was full of conviction as he added. "Which is exactly why I can't grant your request!" Slamming his fist onto the table, he shouted, "Why should I risk their sacrifice for the life of one woman!?" Joe's answer was immediate. "Because you still have the chance to save one of those children!" Sakura looked back to Connor. He was speechless, as once again he avoided Joe's gaze. "Even if you don't honor their sacrifice, then I will. I will save Kai even at the cost of my own life!" Joe boldly stated as he turned to leave. Sakura followed him out, wondering what Connor would do.

Joe was not happy as he left the hut with Sakura. As they walked, She asked, "What now slacker? He seemed pretty serious. Will you actually commit a real jail-break?" Joe looked back at her. "We don't have a choice Sakura, whether he attacks or not Kai must be saved. I have to-"Which was as far as he got as he suddenly stumbled. "Uh-oh, what's wrong with my body?" Joe thought as he caught himself. Sakura however, was not concerned. "You need to rest. You've been sleep deprived for a full-day now." She said helping him up. "C'mon, we can set up camp outside the village." Sakura half-carried him over to the forest's edge, just outside the village. "Here I'll set up the camp-""Like hell you will!" Sakura said interrupting him. "Only an idiot would try to set up a camp running on 0 sleep hours!" Joe was about to tell her to blow it out of her butt, but then stopped himself. "She's right, though I'll never admit it." He thought to himself, then replied, "Fine, but only because I know you're too stubborn to try to change your mind." Sakura shook her fist as she answered, "Please, be my guest. It's not like I left Saito to help you or anything." However, Joe had not heard her response as he was sound asleep. Sakura smacked her forehead. "Even when I'm being nice he still has to get the last word. Jerk!" She complained.

Kakashi sat at a bar as he finished his drink. "Thanks for the meal." Kakashi politely said, thanking the bartender. "It was my pleasure sir." He answered. All of a sudden a man sat down next to Kakashi. "Can I help you?" Kakashi asked looking over at him. "Actually no Kakashi, this is my favorite spot." The man answered. "I recognize you; you're that man from earlier. The Daimyo's messenger." Kakashi said as he sipped his drink. "I'll have a beer." The man said to the bartender. He then turned to Kakashi and asked, "My name's Adachi by the way. So what are you doing back in Saito? I thought that you already got assigned to a convoy?" Kakashi, looked down at his drink, "We ran into some complications." "Complications huh?" Adachi said. "What is he getting at?" Kakashi wondered as he sipped his drink. A couple moments passed in silence, then the bartender walked over with the Adachi's beer. "Thank you." Adachi said as he took his drink. Adachi glanced over at the empty plates. "So who else is coming?" Adachi asked. Kakashi took another sip of his drink. "Just my students. It's going to be a couple days before we get reassigned another convoy. I figured that I would take them out to eat." He answered calmly. "So where are they, your students I mean?" Adachi asked, looking right at Kakashi. "Sorry we are late sensei, this idiot got us lost." Yahiko said as he, Sakura, and Joe walked through the door. "Oh hi guys, we were just talking about you." Kakashi said as he looked back at Adachi. Adachi drained his beer and got up from his seat. "Well, I've got to get moving. Plenty of work to do and all that." As he left he looked back at Kakashi, "Good talk Kakashi, I'll be seeing you later." Kakashi took another sip of his drink as his squad sat down next to him. "You know what, I think we'll take the meals to go. Thanks." Kakashi said as he put some money down on the bar. The four of them walked outside. Eventually, they reached the Red Dragon and entered their room. Kakashi looked over at Yahiko and nodded. Joe and Sakura suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke. "That was good work Yahiko." Kakashi said as Yahiko sat down. "His overall chakra level and control are amazing for one so young. To make shadow clones and then transform them takes a lot of skill." Kakashi thought. All of a sudden Yahiko looked up. "Kakashi." He said. Kakashi turned around and squinted. Then his eye widened in realization. "Dammit, he saw us."

"Am I drowning?" Joe thought as he looked around. He was surrounded by water and for some reason he couldn't breathe. The strange part was that his lungs weren't burning despite the lack of air. "This is weird." He thought. All of a sudden, an icy spear hit him in the face. He instantly woke up covered in water. Sakura was standing next to him, an empty bucket in her hand. "Well that explains the water." Joe thought as he jumped up. Shivering, he said "You know Sakura, you could have just shook me or something." He then began gathering branches and arranging them into a pile. Sakura put her hands on her hips. "Well, consider us even. If I remember right the last time you woke me up you threw me into a lake." She answered with a sneer. Joe started making hand signs and blew out a weak stream of fire. "Dammit, I thought it was just lack of sleep. But Kai was right." Joe thought as he sat down by the fire. Taking out some food he asked, "Has Connor given us a response?" Sakura, who was packing up the tent answered dejectedly, "No word so far. I don't know Joe, I don't think he is going to change his mind." Sakura looked down and then asked, "What do you think Kakashi and Yahiko will do if you try to break her out of Jail?" Joe looked back at the fire, cooking the piece of meat on his stick. "I'm not sure about Kakashi. Though after arguing with him before we left, I don't think he would help. As for Yahiko, when has he ever cared about anyone but himself?" Sakura was instantly furious. She immediately came to his defense. "Why would you ever say something like that! Yahiko is a great person. He's strong, smart, wise…." She kept on going but Joe rolled his eyes, ignoring her. "I've already heard her opinion on that poser." He thought. "Wait a minute, are you even listening!" She angrily exclaimed. "What? Oh sorry were you talking Sakura?" Joe said sarcastically, then added, "Well you see, you were talking about how great of a person Yahiko is. The problem is I don't listen to bull-shit." That really got her going. Balling her hands into fists, she shouted, "How dare you say that about Yahiko! Especially after all Kakashi has said about teamwork." Joe ducked as Sakura chucked the water bucket at him. "Did she just chuck a bucket at me?" Joe thought dumbfounded. "Are you sure, because so far all Yahiko has ever done is pick on me, hang me out to dry for Kakashi, and call me weak despite how hard I work!" He exclaimed. Then he calmly asked her, "Why do you care about him so much?" Sakura simply turned away and answered, "Why should I tell you? It's not like you'd care about what I say." Joe threw up his arms in frustration. "I don't get it, I just don't get it! Yahiko treats everybody like complete garbage and yet he's their hero!" He thought as he turned back to the fire. "Ah screw Sakura! She may be book smart but as far as relationships go, she's a total dunce!" Looking at his food, he began to feel better. "Besides, I'd rather get to know this steak instead." He thought with a smile as he dug in. After finishing his meal and drying by the fire, he then cleaned up their campsite.

"Dammit, he saw us!" Kakashi thought as he looked out the window. Staring at them from the rooftops was none other than Adachi, the obvious spy. "Yahiko, we can't let him reach the Daimyo. We need to take him down!" Kakashi ordered as he and Yahiko leaped out the window. Catching a flag pole, Kakashi swung around 2 times building momentum. He then released the pole and flew through the air until he landed on the rooftop where Adachi had just fled. "I thought he bought our shadow clone transformation idea." Kakashi thought as he began to chase Adachi. "He must have doubled-back after leaving and spied on us from the roof-tops." He heard the sound of boots hitting the roof, and knew that Yahiko was right behind him. Jumping to the next rooftop, Kakashi then reached into his pouch and pulled out some shuriken. "This will slow him down." He thought as he threw them at Adachi. However, Adachi simply ducked and continued running. "Throw them again Kakashi." Yahiko said as he began making hand-signs. "What is he doing?" Kakashi thought confused as he pulled out some more throwing stars. Crossing his arms, Kakashi then threw the shuriken as he jumped to the next rooftop that Adachi was on. He then heard Yahiko say, "Wind Style Wind Scythe Jutsu!" Kakashi was so stunned he almost tripped over himself. "This kid can use nature techniques too? Where the hell do these super rookies come from? Smart though, he increased the speed of my shuriken." He thought as he heard Adachi howl in pain… and Yahiko curse. Though the shuriken had grazed Adachi, he had still managed to dodge them. "Damn, I missed him." Yahiko cursed as he watched Adachi recover. Smiling under his mask, Kakashi disagreed. "Not quite." He answered as he pulled hard. Adachi was stopped in his tracks as he struggled against some invisible force restraining him. Kakashi quickly caught up to Adachi. "What is this string?" Adachi asked as he struggled to move. "Nylon thread, strong enough to hold lions yet small enough to string through shuriken." Kakashi answered smugly. "What will you do wi-" Which was all Adachi got out as Yahiko planted a Kunai knife in his side. "Yahiko, why did you kill him?" Kakashi asked shocked. Yahiko coldly answered, "Because, he was a loose end. As long as he was alive then we had a leak. And shinobi plug leaks, right Kakashi?" Kakashi thought back to what he had told Joe when they were traveling to the Land of Iron. "Perhaps that is why Joe struggled with his first kill so much." Then turning to Yahiko he answered, "That's right, however that's not completely true." Kakashi answered grimly. "What do you mean? If I had not killed him then that would make me a weak shinobi like that loser Joe." Yahiko coolly replied. Kakashi sighed, "This cool act is starting to get on my nerves." He thought. "Yahiko, I know that you feel that your teammates are weak, but there is one thing that you can't change." Yahiko asked, "Oh yeah, what's that?" Kakashi put his hands on his hips and answered, "That they are your teammates whether you like it or not, and in order for us to succeed we have to work together." Yahiko turned and began walking away, his hands in his pockets. Kakashi looked down at Adachi and thought, "That was close, if he had gotten away we would have been had." He then looked out towards the city gate. "Hurry up Joe, we're running out of time!"

Sakura was quiet as they went back into the village. As they approached the leadership hut, the guards again moved to block them. "Oh it's you again. We've been instructed that if anyone attempts to barge in without permission, they are to be dealt with." The guard said putting emphasis into the word dealt. Joe rolling his eyes nonchalantly answered, "I'm not here to knock you guys around, I'm here to see Connor." The guards blocked their entry. "He's not here; he left on a personal errand." Joe confused asked, "A personal errand? What kind of errand?" The guard answered, "That's none of your business. The bottom line is that he is not here, so beat it." Giving up, Joe shrugged and began walking away. As they walked, a girl came up to them holding out her hands. "Excuse me sir. I'm sooooo hungry, could you spare me some food?" Joe looked over at her, the hardened expression on his face softening. Smiling, he answered, "Sure come with me. Besides my friend here could probably use something to eat as well." The girl looked unsure over whether she should follow two strangers. "Relax kid, we're only going to that fruit stand down the street. You'll be alright." Joe reassured. In the end though, her hunger won out. Slowly smiling, she took Joe's hand and walked with them to the stand. Sakura was confused as she watched the girl pick out some fruit. She couldn't get a good read on Joe despite being together for the past day. Whenever he had a nice moment, he completely destroyed it by being a total dick. "How could he talk about Yahiko like that?" She thought as she glared at him. However, one thing still bothered her. That question he had asked, "Why do you care about him so much?" For a second she could not remember, then she smelled the scent of the strawberries come from the cart. The scent carried her out of the present and far into the past.

"Sakura, come downstairs, dinner's almost ready!" Sakura looked up from her picture. "Okay mom, just give me a minute!" She answered smiling. Putting away her crayons, she ran downstairs two steps at a time. "Careful Sakura, you don't want to get hurt!" Her mother said with a smile from the kitchen. "You'd miss seeing your father." Sakura had a big smile on her face as she walked into the kitchen. The reason why she was so excited was that her father was coming home for the first time in months. "Do you think daddy will be happy to see me?" Sakura asked excitedly. Her mother smiled back and answered, "Of course he will, now why don't you help me by setting the table?" Sakura nodded saying, "Okay mommy." Picking up the plates, she carefully arranged them on the table. "There, this way I can sit right next to him!" Sakura thought. "Sakura, would you hand me the strawberries on the counter? My hands are full." Her mother called out from the kitchen. Sakura went back into the kitchen and asked, "Where are they mommy? I can't see them?" Her mother, who was busy mixing, pointed over to the counter-top next to the sink. "They're right over there honey." She said looking at the mixer. Sakura walked up to the counter and tried to reach them. When that failed, she tried jumping but couldn't reach. "I'm just not big enough." She thought as she kicked the floor in frustration. Looking around, she tried to think of a way to reach the bowl. "I got it!" She thought as she noticed the broom in the corner. Grabbing it, she began to poke at the bowl of strawberries. "Almost there!" She thought with a determined look on her face. However, she hadn't really thought about what would happen after she knocked the bowl over. The bowl fell over and hit her on the head. Pain shot through her head as she began to cry. "Oh there there Sakura, it's okay." Her mother cooed as she rushed over to her daughter. Sakura was sitting on the ground in a puddle of water, broken glass, and strawberries. She grabbed onto her mother as she was lifted up and put onto the table. First her mother checked her head. "It'll be alright Sakura, let me just take a look." Looking closely, her mother was satisfied. "See honey, no bleeding or broken glass in your hair. Your head's as hard as a rock." The mother teased as she kissed Sakura's forehead. Then her mother proceeded to clean the glass off of the floor. "So are you going to finish the cake mommy?" Sakura asked as she dried her eyes. "I'm sorry honey, but these strawberries are full of glass shards. It's too bad, that cake is your father's favorite." Sakura's eyes began to well up again. "It's all my fault, now daddy will be mad at me!" She cried. Her mother immediately came back over and gave her a hug. "Don't worry Sakura, I'm sure your father will be happy to just see his daughter. Here have a strawberry" Joe said as he held one out to her.

Sakura jumped back in surprise, having been jolted out of her memory. "Easy Sakura, you're scaring the girl." Joe said. Sakura quickly recovered, and nonchalantly said, "Oh sorry." Joe gave her a weirded out look, "Do you want a strawberry or what?" He asked. "Not if it's coming from you!" She answered suddenly angry. Joe shrugged and then looked back at the girl smiling. "Don't worry, she may look like a girl but inside she's a scary monster." The girl backed off in terror. "A m-m-monster?" The girl asked terrified. "Relax, I'll keep you saf-owww." Joe hissed in pain rubbing his head. Sakura pulled her fist back. "The only monster around here is you slacker." The girl's expression changed as she began laughing. Sakura looked over at the girl and slowly smiled. "What the heck Sakura?" Joe complained. "Shut up loser, you deserved it." She answered smugly. After the girl's arms were full of fruit, she turned to Joe and thanked him. "It was my pleasure." He replied. The girl began to leave, but turned around and said, "Thank you Sakura!" Sakura was surprised for a second, but then smiled and waved. Joe then turned around and began heading for the village exit. "Where are you going?" She asked as she followed him. "We can't stay here any longer, look at the time." He answered flashing his watch hand at her. She looked at the stainless steel and her face grew concerned. "He's right." She thought. "It's almost one, we have to head back." Looking over at Joe, she said, "But we haven't heard from Connor yet." Joe shook his head, "It doesn't matter Sakura, I told you that I would save Kai without Connor's help or not." Tightening his headband, he added, "I guess I'll have to break her out of prison." Grabbing their bags, they began to leave the village. "If only Connor had made a decision." Sakura thought as they left the village gates. All of a sudden, she heard someone shout, "WAIT!" Turning around, she saw Connor running out towards them. "So where have you been all day?" Joe asked. "Joe, I came to a decision!" Connor answered, out of breath. After a couple moments, he looked up at Joe. "I went somewhere to think and I decided that you're right. Those children were my responsibility, Kai IS my responsibility. To abandon her to her fate would be a disservice to them." Connor looked up and offered his hand. "Will you help me honor their sacrifice?" Sakura was stunned. "He convinced him? He actually convinced him?" Joe took Connor's hand and shook it firmly. Turning to leave, Joe looked back and stated, "I promise you Connor, they won't have died in vain." Determined, Sakura began to follow him as he jumped up to the branches. "Hang on Kai, we're coming." Sakura thought.

Chapter 10: The Weapons Known as Shinobi!

Kakashi opened his eyes. "They didn't make it." He thought as he got up. It was the day of the execution and Joe and Sakura were nowhere in sight. "Plus, Connor has not attacked yet. Or else word would have spread like wildfire. So what do I do?" After getting dressed, he walked out to Yahiko eating breakfast. "They didn't make it, looks like that loser failed." Yahiko stated. "Yeah, in any case the execution is in a couple hours. We'll be expected to attend." Kakashi answered as he grabbed some fruit. "So what will you do?" Yahiko asked. Kakashi just kept eating. When they were done, they headed out to the castle. "So what's the deal with the execution?" Yahiko asked, his hands in his pockets. "It's going to take place in the receiving area in front of the castle entrance. She's to be hanged and left so that the public may see what happens to traitors." Kakashi answered. "The Daimyo and his entourage will also be in attendance." After walking for a couple minutes they finally reached the receiving area. Kakashi surveyed the area as they entered the crowd. "Soldiers all over the place, not to mention that if the Daimyo is going to be here so will Namikaze." Kakashi thought. Looking around he saw a large platform in the middle of the area. "So that's how he wants to do it." Kakashi thought as he looked at the platform. On top of it was a large crane-like mechanism with 2 ropes hanging off of it. "He's going to hang her high enough so the whole city will be able to see. The ropes work like a restraining system. One rope holds the victim, well the other holds down the crane. When the second rope is cut, the victim will be pulled up into the air. Talk about overkill, then again this is Nobuhide." Kakashi continued to scan the area. The receiving place was surrounded by 40 foot walls with a couple guards standing on top of them. "If I try to save Kai, those guards will spot me in an instant from above. This crowd will make it easy to hide, but knowing the Daimyo he may just slaughter them all." Kakashi thought. Then the crowd reacted as the Daimyo and his entourage entered the execution area from the palace entrance. While the entourage sat down, the Daimyo moved to the podium. The crowd instantly quieted as he began to speak. "Greetings my loyal subjects, and welcome to today's public demonstration. Today a rebel shall pay for her crimes against our fair society." Kakashi looked around, but could not see Kai or Namikaze for that matter. "For years, you suffered poverty and oppression at the hands of our enemies. However, together we were able to overcome these hardships and create an era of peace and prosperity for the land of Stone!" Nobuhide stated as he raised his hands urging the horde onward. "Well he sure can work a crowd."Kakashi thought as he looked around at the cheering mob. After the crowd quieted down, Nobuhide again addressed them. "Now these rebels threaten everything we have worked to achieve. The peace and security that we paid for with our own blood and sacrifice during the civil war will be paid back ten-fold starting now." Motioning to a pair of guards, Nobuhide ordered, "Bring out the Girl!" A few moments later Kakashi saw them drag Kai out of the palace. She was chained tight and had to be carried. "You're gonna swing real nice lady." One of the guards taunted her as they dragged her onto the platform. Kakashi smiled as he watched Kai spit into the guards face, then tightened his fist when the guard backhanded her. As the mob began to shout out insults and throw food at Kai, the Daimyo spoke. Raising his fist into the air, he shouted above the crowd, "This rebel shall be the first to fall to our great land!" He then nodded to the guards and sat down on his throne. The guards then brought Kai up to the ropes and began to tie the noose. Something touched Kakashi on the shoulder as he watched the spectacle. Kakashi looked back as Yahiko gave him a questioning look. However, Kakashi raised his hand and shook his head. He watched as they finished tying the noose and then backed away from Kai. For a second Kai's eyes met his. "I'm sorry Kai, but the fate of this Land and the safety of my squad is too important." Kakashi thought as he looked down at the ground, avoiding her gaze. Waiting for the guard to cut the rope, Kakashi noticed a messenger bump into a civilian. This drew the attention of the crowd. The Daimyo confused as to why the death threats had stopped, halted the guard. Looking at his messenger he asked, "What is it?" The messenger ran up to the platform's edge out of breath. He then answered, "My lord, the rebels have taken the village!" The Daimyo's face went blank with horror. "Joe did it, he convinced Connor!" Kakashi thought, then waited for the Daimyo to speak. "He doesn't have a choice. Without those Diamonds he can't solidify his power, especially with the Leaf looming over his shoulder. C'mon take the bait." Then someone in the crowd shouted, "C'mon send out the troops to crush these rebels!" However, not everyone held the same opinion. "So we hammer them down just because they disagree with our "glorious Leader!" That doesn't sound very peaceful to me!" All of a sudden the crowd was in uproar as both sides began to hurl insults at each other. "That's enough!" Nobuhide shouted, both hands raised. Looking towards his general, he ordered, "general, lead the entirety of our forces against those un-organized hippies and restore order." The general nodded and mounted his horse, the majority of the soldiers following him. The Daimyo, satisfied that he had asserted his authority , moved back to the podium. "Though some of you have doubted me, it is clear that we can and will defend our country without outside assistance. Do not doubt your savior. When this country fell on its knees having been abandoned by the Leaf, I dragged it back from the brink of collapse. When some threatened what we had achieved, I sharpened swords and shields in order to protect it." He paused then continued. "Do not worry, for this under-handed attack on our new village shall be punished accordingly. I promise you, these Rebels shall not ruin all that we have achieved. Now onto the main event." He said as he turned and sat back down. Kakashi had other plans however, nodding to Yahiko. "Sorry Nobuhide, but your pompous speech gave me all the time I needed. And now that your army has left the city, you have no-one to hide behind." Kakashi thought. All of a sudden Kakashi and Yahiko leaped high into the air. Kakashi landed on the platform and began taking down the remaining guards. Looking over at Yahiko, he saw him use his wind style jutsu to destroy 3 guards at once. However, Yahiko was surrounded by the crowd. "If I don't do something quick, Yahiko will be overwhelmed. But I can't hurt these people, there are still civilians." Kakashi thought as he started to make hand-signs. "Time for a show." Smiling, Kakashi finished signing and took a deep breath. "Fire Style, Burning Ash!" Kakashi exclaimed as he let out a black cloud of smoke. Choking from the heat and the smog, the crowd began running for the exit. As the smog cleared, Kakashi heard Yahiko land next to him. "What is the meaning of this Kakashi?" The Daimyo asked in outrage. "Simple, Nobuhide you have violated the sanctions of the treaty between our two nations and have tortured your people for long enough!" Kakashi answered vehemently. "So it's betrayal isn't it Kakashi." Nobuhide stated as he remained in his throne. "Why is he so calm?" Kakashi thought as he walked across the stage. "Stay away from the girl Kakashi!" Nobuhide ordered as he began to get up, but then stopped as his cloak was caught on something. "I suggest you stay still, lest my student be forced to put a Knife in your throat instead of your robe." Kakashi warned as he reached Kai. "Kakashi…" Kai moaned as she noticed him next to her. "They must have tortured her severely." Kakashi thought as he drew a knife from his pouch. "If it wasn't for the rope, she wouldn't be able to st-…Dammit." He thought as a sharp pain went up his back. "Pathetic Kakashi, I thought that such a legendary ninja such as yourself would be able to see past my disguise." Kakashi looked behind him. The cause of his pain was Namikaze who had shoved a kunai in his back. "Now stop toying with me and show yourself!" Namikaze demanded as he twisted his kunai. Kakashi's body collapsed as it turned to water. The real Kakashi then crawled out from under the stage. "Dillion Namikaze, S-rank rogue shinobi wanted in all 5 great nations for various crimes such as assassination, kidnapping, and murder." Kakashi stated as he jumped next to Yahiko. Glancing at the discarded pink robe he added, "I didn't expect that you would be hired to be the Daimyo's mistress." Namikaze laughed and answered, "Even that fool couldn't pay me enough money for that!" He then moved in front of the Daimyo, playing with the knife that had stabbed Kakashi's water clone. Namikaze had a reddish brown full body-suit with metal sheets on his arms and legs. He also wore a neck-guard which surrounded his vital area. However, what was different about him was his eyes which were two black holes. "So Kakashi you don't think that you're going to assassinate the Daimyo do you?" He asked, then narrowed his eyes. "Because if you do it won't end well for you!" Glaring right back at Namikaze, Kakashi whispered back to Yahiko, "I'm going to take Namikaze. Once he and I are far enough away I want you to cut Kai down." Seeing Yahiko nod, he faced Namikaze. "Dillion, this is your last warning. Move aside or die!" Kakashi threatened as he drew a kunai knife. Dillion had other plans however. "Enough talk Kakashi, let the bloodbath begin!" He shouted as he charged forward. Bracing himself, Kakashi prepared for a long and bloody conflict.

"Jonin level combat, this ought to be interesting." Yahiko thought as he watched Dillion charge at his master. "Still, it sucks that I have to save this dead-weight. I'd rather be fighting with Kakashi." Even though he knew that he didn't stand a chance against Namikaze, his mind itched for a chance to fight. He looked over at the two jonin as they converged. Namikaze using his momentum had managed to tackle Kakashi and was on top of him. "It's not going to be that easy." Yahiko thought. Kakashi on his back placed both legs on his opponents chest, rolled backward, and kicked sending Namikaze towards the other side of the arena. Using the momentum from his kick, Kakashi rolled backwards onto his feet. He leaped towards Namikaze intending to catch him off balance, however Dillion moved his legs upward as he flew back-flipping through the air and landing on his feet. Metal clashed against metal as Kakashi's Kunai met Dillion's jagged dagger. "Not bad Kakashi, but that's to be expected of the Leaf's Sharingan warrior!" Dillion aqcknowledged, sneering as he struggled with Kakashi. That didn't last long. All of a sudden, a clone appeared behind Kakashi and began to rapidly make hand-signs. "Water Style Water Dragon Jutsu!" Kakashi exclaimed as his clone finished signing. "Incredible!" Yahiko thought watching as the water dragon appeared. "To maintain a shadow clone and such powerful water style jutsu. So this is the power of a jonin!" Kakashi then jumped back as his clone disappeared and took over the jutsu. Manipulating the Dragon, it began to charge through the air towards Dillion. Dillion dodged to the right and began to charge Kakashi. Barely staying ahead of the dragon, he was forced to run with his side against the wall as the dragon came closer and closer. Kakashi then went for the kill as the dragon reared back and charged. However, Namikaze leapt onto the wall evading the dragon as it crashed into the wall and collapsed. With the dragon gone, he charged at Kakashi running across the wall. "Sorry about your pet Kakashi, but it's going to take more then that to stop my bloodlust." Dillion said laughing as he started to make his own hand-signs. "Let me show you a real jutsu." Pulling out a several shuriken, he threw them at Kakashi. "Earth Style, Blade Shower Jutsu!" All of a sudden mud rose out of the ground and surrounded the shuriken. "Those throwing stars are coated in mud. No doubt he's using the mud to greatly increase their sharpness and his control." Yahiko thought as he watched them fly towards Kakashi. "What will you do now Kakashi?" "Your leader's not bad, though that is to be expected of Kakashi Hatake." The Daimyo said as he watched the fight. "Though Namikaze has been holding back as well. I don't know if Kakashi can beat him." Yahiko just ignored him. "Keep talking and I'll put a kunai in your head. The only reason you're alive is because for some reason my master thinks that you should be given a fair trial." He then turned and faced Nobuhide, a dark look on his face. "I on the other hand am not so merciful. Watch your step." Yahiko threatened. He then turned back to the fight.

"Earth style Earth Wall!" Kakashi countered as he put both hands onto the ground. All of a sudden a giant wall emerged from the ground. "Perfect." Namikaze thought as he watched the shuriken pierce the wall. They almost made it through, but stopped just short of breaching the wall. Kakashi sighed in relief. However, Namikaze just kept running forward. "Your jutsu is pathetic Kakashi." He coldly stated. Pulling his fist back, he punched straight through Kakashi's protective wall. Kakashi who was thrown back by the debris, could do nothing as Namikaze lifted him up into the air, his hand around Kakashi's throat. "But how did yo- hack." Kakashi asked choking for air. "Simple, that wall was your biggest mistake. When you set that wall, you lost track of me. I weakened an area of the wall by controlling my mud shuriken, then powered straight through it." Dillion answered sneering. The battle was over, he had won. As he began squeezing the life out of Kakashi however, he noticed something strange. Kakashi wasn't the only one choking. "What is going on?" He thought as it became harder to breathe. Something hot was burning his lungs. Suddenly he heard someone shout, "Fire Style, Burning Ash!" Searching for the source, he looked up at the wall. There was Kakashi standing on the wall, a hand-sign being made. Namikaze felt his hands feel empty as the choking Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. "He must have made a shadow clone when we lost sight of each other." Namikaze thought as the smoke made tears stream from his eyes. Coughing, he felt something graze his hand as he covered his mouth. His eyes widened in fear. "Dammit, he hid bomb tags in the smoke!" Kakashi made a hand-sign. "Game-over Namikaze, you lose." He stated coldly as he claimed victory. There was a great explosion as the heat from the jutsu finally ignited the bomb tags. Dillion Namikaze was no more.

Yahiko looked on as Kakashi finished off Namikaze. "He controlled the whole fight. The whole time he was never in any danger." He thought out loud. "You think so huh?" Nobuhide asked, skeptical of Kakashi's victory. "There's a reason that he is called the slayer of the red earth." Yahiko looked on as the smoke cleared. Kakashi had jumped down from the wall and was walking over to the platform, intent on cutting down Kai. "Not a wise move turning your back on me." Somone suddenly said. Kakashi wheeled around. "Impossible! How did you survive?" He said stunned. "I wouldn't have if I didn't have this jutsu. Earth Style, Mud Dome." Namikaze answered. Yahiko looked over at him. Half of his body was sticking out of a dome made of mud. "He must have hardened it to protect himself from the blast, then softened it to look outside." Kakashi said in realization. "Still Dillion, this changes nothing." Kakashi stated as he drew a pair of kunai and hurled them at Dillion. But Dillion simply retreated into the dome and hardened it, causing the kunai to bounce harmlessly off. "You insult me Kakashi, trying to kill me with such a weak attack." Dillion spat from within the dome. "He's up to something." Yahiko thought as he watched Kakashi charge the dome. All of a sudden the air was filled with projectiles. "Earth Style, Earth Wall." Kakashi exclaimed as he blocked the projectiles in Yahiko's path. "Look out, he must be using some sort of special technique!" Kakashi warned as he looked back at Yahiko. " Dillion's distracted, Now's my chance!" Yahiko thought as he reached into his pouch. Pulling out a pair of Kunai, he pulled back and hurled them at the rope tied around her neck. "Alright, that ought to… What the hell?" Yahiko thought as he watched his kunai knocked out of the ground. "But the only one who could hav-?" He was so distracted that he didn't see the fist heading for his face.

Kai watched as Kakashi battled Namikaze. "The stories seem to be true, Hatake is a powerful ninja." She winced in pain as she turned her neck. They had given her quite a beating, but she had managed to keep the location of her village a secret. Again she struggled to break out of her bonds but it was no use. They had tied her up tight, with chains on her hands and feet and a noose around her neck. Which was understandable considering she had given one of the guards a black eye. "It was worth it." She thought to herself with a weak smile. All of a sudden she heard Dillion say, "I would have died had I not had this." Wondering what _it_ was, she looked back to the fight. Her eyes widened in fear at the sight of the dome. "Why did my heart suddenly drop?" She thought as a coldness slowly crept in. Then she remembered, but it was too late as the air was filled with sharp earth projectiles. "This jutsu is..cough cough." She tried to say as she choked on some dirt. Though some debris had gotten through, Kakashi had stopped it with his Earth Style jutsu. "If I don't warn him about this jutsu, then we're dead." Kai thought. She was about to scream out a warning when all of a sudden she was lifted into the air. Instantly the noose began to tighten around her throat. At first she struggled to breathe, kicking her legs as if to swim upwards and escape the grip of the noose. Then she looked out at the horizon. "I can see the whole city from up here. It looks so peaceful." She thought. Knowing she had no chance, she stopped struggling. "Perhaps, I'll see my family again. Then I can tell them that I got their revenge." In the background, she heard the Daimyo say, "this is what happens to those who oppose my rule." Kakashi shouted, "Hang on Kai!" But she knew that he wouldn't be able to make it. If he moved then Yahiko would be killed in seconds. "At least I can finally be at peace, and yet…" Kai thought as blackness and doubt began to cloud her mind. "I'm sorry Kai, but your answer… It's just not good enough." She remembered him say. "Why, why would sacrificing my life for my revenge be wrong." She had answered so sure of her goal. But now… "It just doesn't feel right Kai." She looked to her right. There he was again, "Why are you doing this, why are you bothering me so much!" She shouted as she shook her head. She must be hallucinating from the lack of oxygen. "Because I promise you that I will protect you!" He had answered, looking straight into her eyes. Those eyes… That was why she had cared.

Kai blocked another attack from the boy. "This kid is amazing for his age, was he trained by the Daimyo?" She thought. It was supposed to be a simple hit and run mission. Hit the convoy, destroy the package, and then escape into the forest. They had never expected Leaf ninja to defend the convoy. "Is that… Fire Jutsu?" She panicked as she quickly shielded herself from the flames. When she was sure it was safe, she lowered her shield and noticed him smiling. "Why are you smiling?" She asked disguising her voice. All of sudden she felt something grab her from behind. "A shadow clone? Dammit." Quickly making hand-signs, she directed her sashes and stabbed the shadow clone before it could do any serious damage. "Phew, that was too close." She thought. However, the shadow clone had done more damage then she thought. All of a sudden he appeared from nowhere and slashed her control sash in two. "Dammit, he figured it out and cut the connection." She thought trying to react, but it was too late. He spin-kicked her sending her rolling backward. Kai slowly picked herself up and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Wait a minute, my hair shouldn't be in the way." She thought confused. "You're a woman?" The boy said surprised. Sensing opportunity Kai planted a kick in his chest that sent him backwards. Smiling in victory, she turned towards the convoy with the full intent to burn it to hell… only to see a man charge at her. Sighing, she was about to warn the worker not to waste his life attacking a ninja when all of a sudden she found herself flat on the ground. The man had dived and used his momentum to take out her legs. She looked up at him, intent on plunging her black cloth knives through him. Then she remembered that the boy had spoiled that party. "Shit, I can barely move. I'm still tired from fighting that kid." She thought. The worker drew a kunai knife from inside his boot and raised his hand to deliver the final blow. Then out of nowhere a black shadow came and elbowed him in the stomach. Kai watched in amazement as the boy who had just minutes ago been her enemy, dismantled her attacker in seconds. "Lights out." He said as he planted a kick into the man's stomach, then knocked him out with a punch. "Are you alright?" He asked as he offered his hand to her. Looking up at him she was struck by his eyes. They were burning with a warmth that she had never seen before. "Those eyes." She thought as the strain became too much. Her head collapsed to the ground as she fainted.

She was jolted awake, the smell of blood stuck in her nostrils. She looked around her in shock. Kelly had her in a head-lock, a maniacal look on his face. She could feel the cold steel against her throat as Kelly moved a knife threateningly down her neck. She had never been this scared before. Not during the war, not when she had been in battle, not even when they had stolen her parents. She was so frightened that she couldn't breathe. Seconds passed by like hours as her eyes quickly darted from side to side taking in everything. A horrified girl, a surprised boy, a calm boy, and a masked man. However, her gaze rested on one boy pleading with him to help her. His green eyes met hers and all of a sudden she saw it rise again, that fire that warmed her soul. Despite the fact that there was a knife at her throat she felt…safe. All of a sudden the boy had disappeared, moving faster than the eye could follow. Kelly had barely finished running the knife down her throat when he suddenly breathed a sigh of pain. She was free, as Kelly fell back his grip loosened on her. She was flooded with emotions of relief, fear, and sadness at the same time. Overcome by the whirlwind of feelings and her previous fight, she began to fall over. But as the darkness overtook her, she couldn't help but notice the boy. Gone was the innocent fire that had been there. She knew that look, it was the one that she herself wore. "Those eyes, they're so cold."

"Kai!" Kakashi's shout jolted her out of her memories. She tried to call back but it was when she opened her mouth nothing came out. Her vision was slowly getting blacker as her lungs burned from lack of oxygen. She could feel a breeze as her body swayed back and forth suspended by the rope. "What is this empty feeling?" She thought. Then she realized what it was. It was the same feeling she had felt that day. She realized that Joe was right. "I-I don't want to die." She thought. However, it was too late. The darkness was closing in on her. One last time she struggled, moving her legs and neck. But her body screamed in pain, and she could do nothing to defeat the inevitable. Finally giving up, she felt herself fall into the deep pit of darkness.

"You blocked me, but how?" Kakashi heard Yahiko say as he saw Kai slowly rise into the air. "Hang on Kai!" Kakashi shouted. The Daimyo laughed as he threw his cloak to the ground. Underneath was a set of battle armor. "It's simple, I don't trust anyone especially Namikaze. I knew that when I gained power I would make enemies, so I had Namikaze train me as a ninja." Namikaze then chimed in, "You can't call yourself a ninja if you can't do ninjutsu!" Nobuhide looked over at Namikaze. "True, but my blade skill is more than enough!" He shot back. Drawing two medium length swords, he charged at Yahiko. Kakashi was about to join Yahiko but was nearly decapitated by a shot from Namikaze's dome. "Where do you think you're going Kakashi? You've got other things to worry about." "Dammit!" Kakashi cursed as he reached into his pouch. "I've got to cut her down now or else she's finished!" However, his heart sank as his hand hit empty leather. He had used up all of his kunai intercepting Dillion's air projectiles. "Kai!" He shouted. Then he saw it. Kai made one last desperate struggle and then went limp. Her eyes closed, Kakashi knew that she was gone. He lowered his head in mourning. "So much for that rebel whore. It's a pity though, she would have made a beautiful mistress." The Daimyo taunted as he threw Yahiko off of him. Then he added spitefully, "Much better looking than my old one." Namikaze smiled and answered, "Hey I take offense to that, I made that dress look good." All of a sudden Kakashi noticed a glint of light hit the ground. Following it he saw that light was reflecting off of a piece of metal. "Wait a minute, that's a kunai knife!" Kakashi thought, as he began to smile under his mask. "And it's heading for the rope!" Kakashi immediately scanned the rooftops, and then he saw him. In a shadowy blur, Joe launched off the wall chasing the kunai. It sliced clean through the rope cutting Kai free. "His timing has to be perfect, or else Kai's finished!" Kakashi thought. However, even with that thought there wasn't a doubt in his mind. Joe caught Kai and landed on the other side of the arena, out of harm's way. "Not today!" He coolly stated as he looked straight at the Daimyo. "Always playing the hero." Kakashi thought shaking his head.

"Kai! Kai!" Joe shouted shaking her as Kai woke up. She was confused. She had been falling through the darknes.. no she had been dying. She was sure of it… and yet here she was. Looking around she noticed a couple things. One that she was no longer choking to death, but also that she wasn't hanging in air. "Nice throw Sakura." Joe complemented as Sakura landed right behind him. Then she realized what had happened. "The moment that I blacked out must have been the moment that they cut me down. That's why I had that falling sensation." She thought. Looking up at him, she said. "Joe you came back…" Joe looked down at her and smiled. "Told you so." He joked. Kai managed to muster a weak smile. But then her head started to pound and she hissed in pain. Joe concerned put her on the ground. "Sakura, I'm going to join the battle. Wait for an opening and then get Kai out of here." He said as he threw his black cloak to the side with a flourish. He began to walk towards the fight ahead. "Joe, be careful." Kai said weakly as Sakura began cleaning her wounds. He simply waved without looking back at her as he drew his kunai. "Ah, so another runt joins the party." Namikaze said with a devilish smile on his face. Then he added, "I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart boy." Joe simply answered, "I'll remember that when my blade's at your throat." Kai looked at the arena. Yahiko and the Daimyo were fighting on top of the platform, their blades locked in a struggle. Meanwhile Kakashi was standing in between everyone and Namikaze, ready to throw up a wall in case Dillion attacked. All of a sudden, Joe began to charge towards Namikaze. "No do-" Kai tried to warn him as she reached a hand out. "Kai… don't pu…self. Too muc..stra." She heard Sakura say as she fell in and out of consciousness.

"Is she dead? I hope so. She was always a pain in the ass, especially when I trained her." Namikaze taunted as his head stuck out of the dome. "I've had enough of this guy!" Joe thought as he began to charge towards Namikaze intent on driving his knife through Dillion's throat. However, before he even got close Kakashi placed an arm in his way. "Don't even think about it Joe. This guy is way out of your league." He warned as he blocked Joe from advancing. "What do you mean? Sure he fought in the civil war against the rebels, but those were just a bunch of defenseless kids." Joe reasoned as he stared at Namikaze. "It's not that simple." Kakashi answered warily as he watched Namikaze carefully. "He also fought in the Great War." Namikaze's devilish smile was back on his face as Kakashi continued. "His name in Dillion Namikaze, but that is not his only name." Confused, Joe asked, "His only name?" Kakashi answered, "During the war, he was called The Slayer of the Red Earth. Because he once slaughtered a whole platoon with one jutsu." Joe looked over at Namikaze. "A whole platoon with one jutsu? What power!" He thought. "You know so much about me Kakashi, I should be flattered. Are you impressed by my power?" Namikaze taunted as he played with a kunai knife. "Try disgusted. 50 men died that day. 50 lives gone in the blink of an eye, and yet you laugh at it like it is fun." Kakashi answered angrily. "But how could he kill so many people and be so happy about it?" Joe asked. Though he had directed his question towards Kakashi, it was Namikaze who answered. "Because it is who I am kid." Namikaze answered laughing, then his smile was replaced with a serious look. "As a ninja, my job is too kill. We assassinate, defend, and sabotage but one thing remains true. True shinobi are cold murderers, weapons to be used at the bidding of our contractors. Why do you think I put up with all the crap that Nobuhide gave me. Why do you think I could torture innocent children and then pit them against each other." He said as he looked straight into Joe's eyes. Then he added, "Why do think I could kill you right here and now, a ninja right out of diapers, and not feel a thing. Because you are weak. Your eyes are conflicted, where mine are cold and resolute. For I am a true shinobi, a murderer." Joe and Dillion's gaze met for a brief second. "He's right, there is no give in his eyes." He thought. "Allow me to show you the true meaning of a shinobi!" Namikaze exclaimed as he retreated back into his dome. "What is he going to do?" Joe thought as he looked at Namikaze cautiously. "Earth Style, Earth Slayer technique!" All of a sudden a hundred sharp blades of earth rose out of the dome and headed straight for Joe. "Damn, what do I do now?" Joe thought. However, Kakashi had already been signing the correct sequence and blocked them with an earth wall. "I told you that he was out of your league!" Kakashi stated, then looked up in surprise. Namikaze had just kicked Joe clear across the arena and was closing in for the last blow. "You should have paid attention the last time Kakashi. Your need to protect blinds you from victory!" Namikaze shouted as he began to descend from his leap, sword raised high. "Of course, he must have created a clone inside of his dome while he kept us talking." Joe thought as he pulled himself off of the ground. He heard a clang of metal and instantly looked up. Yahiko stood in front of him blocking Namikaze's clone. "Get up slacker, I won't block him a second time." Yahiko taunted as he struggled with the clone. "Relax Yahiko, you of all people should know that nothing beats the original." Joe answered as he grabbed his kunai. He then planted a kick in the clone's head as Yahiko crouched. Joe was about to finish it off when all of a sudden metal flashed in front of him. Reacting on instinct, he blocked a slash from Nobuhide with his Kunai. "Ah, the boy who was so concerned about Kai's execution. I hope you enjoyed the show." He taunted as he managed to push Joe on his back foot. However, that was what Joe wanted. Rolling on his back, he planted both of his feet on Nobuhide's chest and pushed sending him rolling off of the stage. "Now I've got you both!" Joe thought as he quickly made hand-signs. Feeling the heat rise in his stomach, he blew out a stream of fire planning to take them both out in one shot. However, Nobuhide just laughed at the weak stream of fire Joe shot out. Yahiko quick on the uptake, immediately took charge. "Wind Style Wind Scythe Jutsu!" He said as he blew out a powerful gust of wind. Namikaze though had other ideas. He raised up a wall made of earth which effectively blocked Yahiko's attack. "Sorry, but I can't let you kill my paycheck boys." Namikaze's clone said as he lowered the wall. "No matter what we try he can just block it with his wall. How are we supposed to take them down?" Joe wondered. "I told you Joe, you can't beat me because you aren't a true shinobi." Namikaze stated, then added. "And you will never be able to break down my wall because you are weak." Joe looked at him, then at Kai. "He's right, I don't have what it takes to shinobi. If I can't even kill, perform the most basic duty of a ninja, then how can I call myself one?" Joe thought as all of the moments where his weakness showed flashed before him. He didn't struggle as Namikaze's clone walked over and picked him up by the neck. "You're weak and you always will be." Yahiko had said, "You weakened your squad." Kakashi had said, "You're such a slacker." Sakura had stated. Lost in his weakness, Joe didn't even move as Namikaze threw him across the stadium. He landed back next to Kai, and was reminded of her words. "I will have my revenge, Joe. I don't care if it costs me my own life!" She had said sounding strong. "Could I have done what she did to survive? Could I have killed?" Joe thought as he dropped to his knees defeated. "Joe, what's wrong? Stop slacking around and get up!" Sakura said as a worried tone entered her voice. However, he didn't hear her. He didn't care about being a shinobi, because he knew that it was pointless. "I'm just too weak."

Kakashi looked on with relief as Yahiko stopped Namikaze's attack on Joe. "I have to be more careful. Still, this actually helps more then it hurts. He and Yahiko can handle the Daimyo well I keep Dillion in check." He thought as he looked back at Namikaze. "Your students are strong Kakashi, but as long as my clone is there they won't be able to kill the Daimyo. They're not like you and I." Namikaze said as he stuck his head outside of the dome. "I'm nothing like you Dillion, I don't kill for money or pleasure." Kakashi answered. "Oh really, then I must be thinking of some other Sharingan warrior. My mistake." Namikaze jeered as he began making hand-signs again. "By the way, you might want to look over at your all-powerful students." Kakashi at first was un-fazed, then he heard a crash. Looking back he saw Joe on his knees, a defeated look on his face. That moment of distraction was all Namikaze had been looking for. "I told you you were weak Joe. Now pay the price of that Weakness!" Kakashi looked back but it was too late. Namikaze had already launched a stream of projectiles, and they were headed straight for Joe. "I've got to do something! If those aren't stopped then they're dead." Kakashi thought as he began to move towards Joe. But inside he knew that it was pointless. "I'm not going to make it!" He thought frantically. He was right, as Dillion had once again stained the earth blood-red.

Joe was stunned. His gloves were stained with blood. However it wasn't his own. Looking up, he only asked one question. "Why Kakashi?" Kakashi looked down at him, and answered, "Joe I'm sorry. I failed you as a teacher." Noticing Joe's confused look he continued. "When you came to me and asked about killing, I didn't give you a true answer. I told you that…Shinobi are killers. I expected you to accept an answer out of a textbook." Kakashi apologized as he looked on at Joe. "I expected you to overcome it because of your strength." Joe was stunned. "My strength, what is he?" "It's alright Sakura, you don't have to cry for me." Kakashi stated strongly as he rose up and turned to face Namikaze. "Kakashi just protected us with his life…" Joe thought, and then it hit him. The reason why he had killed Kelly, defied Kakashi, fought the tracker ninja, and risked everything to save Kai was because he had wanted to protect his comrades. "The most important part of being a Konoha shinobi is to put the safety of other's before your own." Ibiki had told him. When he had saved Kai from Kelly, he hadn't done so for revenge, but to protect her. "Whenever the people I care about are in danger, that is when I ..am …strongest. I care for them? I care for them." Joe realized as images of Sakura, Kakashi, Ariana, and Kai flashed through his head. Joe's gaze drifted. Sakura was crying, Kakashi was bleeding, and Kai was drifting in and out of consciousness. Picking himself up off the ground, he drew his Kunai.

Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes. She could see the pain in Kakashi's face as he slowly got up. She noticed some sort of sticky red liquid on her hands and realized that it was blood spatter. "A real shinobi battle, this is vicious. If Kakashi dies then Namikaze will kill us." There were so many things racing through her mind. Kai's health, Kakashi's wound, Yahiko's situation. It was almost too much for her too handle. Seeing the blood on the ground fresh tears began to well up in her eyes. Then she heard someone say, "It's alright Sakura, I will protect my comrades with my life." Looking up she was shocked to see Joe standing in front of her. "What happened to him?" She thought. "And did he just call me a comrade?" Yet, unlike the complete wise-ass he usually was, this Joe was different. "He's so serious." She thought. She didn't even notice that her tears had stopped.

"Kakashi how are you holding up?" Joe asked. Kakashi began to answer, "I'm alright, but Joe if you're not up to-" "That's enough Kakashi, I will protect the people I care about!" Joe stated interrupting Kakashi. Smiling Kakashi said, "Very well,we need to take down that clone and the Daimyo." Joe concerned for Kakashi asked, "are you sure? What about Namikaze?" "Yahiko needs your help Joe." Then with a hint of malice added, "Leave Namikaze to me." With that she watched as Joe ran to join Yahiko. Yahiko was in trouble, he couldn't take on both Namikaze's clone and Nobuhide at the same time. Landing next to him, he said, "need a hand?" Yahiko nodded as Joe kicked Namikaze's clone off of Yahiko. "Took you long enough, slacker." Yahiko answered. "That clone never leaves Nobuhide's side, no doubt protecting his "paycheck". But those walls keep getting in the way." Joe thought as he came up with an idea. "Yahiko, remember our competition earlier?" Yahiko looked at him dumb-founded. "Who cares about that?" Smiling Joe said, "You up for a rematch?" At first Yahiko had no idea what he was talking about, but then he nodded. They began to charge. Just then, Yahiko noticed a barrage of earth projectiles come from the clone. "Watch out for the ear-?" Yahiko warned but was stunned as he saw Joe jump up and run on the side of the wall to avoid the earth shuriken. "Not bad Joe, not bad at all." Yahiko thought as he began signing. "Your climbing skill won't help you break down my wall!" Namikaze challenged as he brought his defense up. Joe just smiled and shouted, "ready Yahiko?" Yahiko immediately answered, "What do you think." They released their jutsu shouting at the same time. "Fire-style" "Wind Style" "Wind Scythe" "Flamethrower" "Jutsu!" All of a sudden a great gust of wind entered the arena. "If it didn't work the first time, then it won't work again!" Namikaze taunted. Then he noticed something strange. The wall was turning red. Joe couldn't help but smile as he saw the great wave of fire that followed, then put a more serious look on his face as he neared the wall. Or what was left of it. The wall itself had been melted down, leaving Nobuhide and Namikaze's clone wide open. "But how, that's impossible!" Namikaze's clone denied, a shocked look on his face. It didn't last as Joe jumped off of the wall and came down with a kick that sent him flying. Namikaze's clone was sent rolling across the ground until it came out of its roll. Well Yahiko struggled with the Daimyo, Joe pursued the clone. Pulling out his kunai, he charged at Namikaze. However, Namikaze was prepared and braced himself for a frontal attack. "You can't take me Joe, just because you broke down my wall does-" "I'll break more than just your wall!" Joe stated, determined to beat the clone. As he neared his target, Namikaze immediately went to grab Joe. "It's ove-" The clone tried to say as it lunged at Joe. But all it touched was thin air. Joe, expecting the lunge, had leaped to the wall at the last second. "Lights out!" Joe stated coldly as he launched himself off the wall. He lowered his shoulder and drove it straight into the clone's side sending them rolling. For a second, they grappled for position. But in the end Joe was on top. "What is this? You were on your knees two seconds ago!" Namikaze's clone shouted in frustration. "If you threaten my friends, then I'll kick your ass!" Joe coldly stated as he shoved his kunai into the clone's throat. Severely damaged, it turned back into earth as it sank into the ground. Joe stood and raised his kunai in victory. The fire had returned.

Sakura looked on in amazement as she watched Yahiko fight the Daimyo. With Namikaze's clone busy dealing with Joe, it was an even fight between the two. She watched as Yahiko ducked under a sword swipe and then plant a kick into the Daimyo's doubling him over. The Daimyo then rolled around and tried to punch Yahiko, but Yahiko moved his head to the side and twisted his arm. "The tide's turning!" She thought smiling to herself. "Sakura, how is Joe doing?" Kai asked weakly trying to stand. Sakura looked over at Joe's fight. She saw him charge towards the clone. "It'll be alright Kai." Sakura reassured but she was still worried. "Even though that clone isn't as powerful as Namikaze, he's still a Jonin." She thought. Then Joe did something that completely shocked her. At the last second, he jumped to the side onto the wall missing the clone's lunge. "When did he?" She thought as she watched him take down the clone. Her attention was brought back to Kai as she grabbed Sakura's shoulder. Helping Kai stand, she heard her say in relief, "He did it, he turned the tide." Sakura looked back at the fight and saw Joe raise his Knife in victory. "Maybe he's not such a slacker after all." She thought.

Kakashi surveyed the battle-field. The tide had turned. Joe had finished off Namikaze's clone, and Yahiko had literally dis-armed the Daimyo. Looking back over to Namikaze he said, "It's over Dillion, your clone's dead and your employer in our custody. I suggest you give up and I might let you live." Namikaze laughed. "Do you really think I will surrender Kakashi? What is there left for me in prison, to become my cell-mates pretty little girl-friend?" He joked as he began making hand-signs. "I don't think so. You see, I still have the advantage!" Kakashi immediately considered his options. "He's going to use that jutsu again. I'm out of Kunai and Joe, Yahiko, and Sakura are in different parts of the arena which means another wall is useless." Kakashi glanced at his students and made up his mind. "It's time to finish this." He thought as he lifted up his headband, exposing his right eye. Then he began to make hand-signs. "Namikaze, you've killed too many men in one lifetime. Which is why I'm going to end it!" He stated coldly as he charged.

"What's that sound?" Joe thought as he landed next to Kai. "It sounds like birds chirping?" Curious he looked over to where the noise was coming from. Kakashi was making hand-signs that Joe had never seen before. "What is he doing?" Joe asked confused as Kakahi finished signing. Then he saw it. All of a sudden Kakashi was surrounded by a flat circle of blue electricity. The electricity was coming from his hand, which was surrounded in a transparent veil of electricity. "I don't know, it must be some kind of ninjutsu." Kai answered. Joe was mesmorized at the jutsu's form. "The chakra is so strong that it's visible!" He thought amazed. Then the circle disappeared, however the hand was still coated in electricity. Joe could only stand in awe as Kakashi with his hand close to the ground, began to charge straight at Namikaze's shield. "But how will he pierce the dome?" Sakura asked worried. Joe looked at the ground that Kakashi had already crossed. "I don't think the dome is going to be much of a problem." He said. "The force of the jutsu is so incredible that its tearing a trench in the floor behind it and he's not even touching the ground! What, what power!" Joe thought awestruck. As he grew close to the wall, Kakashi pulled his arm back and shouted, "Lightning Blade!" Joe watched as he thrusted his arm deep into Namikaze's dome as if it were water. "Did he get him, I can't tell?" Kai asked. The answer was revealed, when Kakashi pulled his arm out of the hole he had created. It was covered in blood. "That technique was amazing." Joe thought to himself as he watched Kakashi turn around. Then he saw it, Kakashi's right eye wasn't covered by his head-band. Instead, a red eye with three weird markings was revealed. For a second, Joe was apprehensive wondering if Namikaze had played some sort of trick. But then Kakashi said, "It's alright, its over." As he covered up the eye, Joe walked over to them. Namikaze, no longer able to hold up the dome lay on the ground slowly bleeding out. As Joe approached he looked up at him and said, "Are you proud of what you have acclomplished? Or are you just angry that you didn't get the chance to do it yourself?." Struggling, he added, "I was wrong about you kid, you aren't wea.. cough cough!. You're just like me." Joe disgusted looked back at him and asked. "What do you mean?" Namikaze coughed and then answered, "I saw you stab my clone. I actually enjoyed the viciousness of it. Reminded me of myself." Joe looked at him, and then answered, "It's too bad you missed the point." Namikaze coughed, "What are yo-" "I am not a murderer, but I will do what is necessary to protect those that I care about." Joe answered confidently as he stared straight into Namikaze's eyes. "That is what a Shinobi is to me, someone who puts the needs of others before himself." Joe watched him closely, studying his face. For once, Namikaze looked confused. He then opened his mouth, perhaps to retort, or even possibly apologize. But Joe never found out, as the only thing that left his mouth was blood. With one last exhalation, Dillion's eyes rolled back as he passed. "What do you think he was about to say Kakashi?" Joe asked. Kakashi sighed and took a step towards him, then collapsed. "Kakashi!" Joe shouted confused. Sakura rushed over supporting Kai on her shoulder. "What's wrong with him Joe?" Sakura asked worried. Then Yahiko came over, carrying Nobuhide on his shoulder. "What do we do with him?" Kai asked, a look of menace in her eyes. Joe's gaze moved from each of them, finally resting on the Daimyo. Making a decision, he said, "Take him into custody, we'll let the people of Saito decide his fate." "What about Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura asked. "He's still breathing, we need to get Kai and him medical treatment." Joe answered. Looking down at his master's unconscious form, he wondered. "Kakashi, what is wrong with you?" Resigning himself to a long day's work, he began to administer first aid.

It was night-time in Saito, and Kai was walking down the street at a faster pace than usual. She pulled her cloak further in as she walked to avoid attention. "Technically, I don't have to worry about guards anymore. But being a celebrity isn't much different. People still want to tear you apart, just for different reasons." She thought. It was funny in a way. At the public execution they had wanted her to swing in the breeze. But months later she was the tragic hero of Saito, who had sacrificed herself for victory. As she reached her destination, she turned into an alley-way. Picking up a small pebble, she chucked it at the window. There was no response however. Curious, she began climbing the wall until she reached it and looked inside. "Gone again, does he ever sleep?" She thought as she hopped down. Walking to the city entrance, she noticed the guard give her a wave. "Out late aren't we miss Kai." He said with a smile. "Just for a stroll Frank. Has anybody else gone for a walk tonight?" She asked returning his smile, a hint of hope in her voice. "Bout an hour ago I thought I saw a shadow go by, musta been seeing things." He answered scratching his head. Kai smiled genuinely and simply kept walking, leaving the guard sitting confused. After walking for a minute, she immediately turned into the forest. As she expected, there were a couple fire pits lit around a small clearing. "There he is." She thought as she saw Joe sparring with a tree. "Seems like you're struggling with that tree, want a real partner?" She teased as she lowered her hood. Joe didn't stop, as he kicked the tree. Instead he asked, "What are you doing here?" Kai then removed her cloak and leaned against a tree. "Why do you ask, and what are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be sleeping like a normal person?" She shot back confused. "Well to answer your second question, It's a process for combat. By kicking the tree I deaden the nerves in my legs, preparing them for a fight." He answered as he punched the tree, then continued, "As for the first, I thought you were avoiding me." Confused Kai asked, "Why would I do that?" Joe kicked the tree twice as he answered, "Because of my decision with the Daimyo. I heard that you and Connor got into a big fight over his fate." Then he stopped and leaned against the tree. Looking at her, he added, "Don't lie to me, I saw that look in your eyes when you asked me what to do with him." Kai looked down for a second, then said, "You're right. I will never get my family back. I will never get my childhood back." She wiped her eyes then continued, "I will never get my innocence back." Confused, Joe said, "That still doesn't explain why you aren't avoiding me." Kai looked up at him and answered, "For years I had convinced myself that revenge was what I wanted. That I wanted to take my blade and shove the cold steel into the Daimyo's throat. But…" Joe taking a swig of his canteen urged her on, "But?" "But then I felt the blade at my own throat, the fear running down my back as cold steel brushed my own neck." She paused for a moment then continued. "And you came and saved me at a steep cost. But though it took so much from you, you refused what I did not. You told me that my reason for living was not good enough." Joe capped his canteen and leaned back against the tree. "When I was hanging, I thought that I would be happy. Even though I would be dead, so would the Daimyo. But you ruined that." Confused Joe asked, "What do you mean? What does this have anything to do with me?" Kai looked at him and answered, "When you killed Kelly that day, your eyes were so… cold. I was mad. Mad at the Daimyo for taking away the innocence of another child… and mad at myself for not stopping it. That was why I cared…" She looked at Joe, she had his full attention. "But despite the fact that it cost you, you still refused revenge. I was shocked. Why would you not want something that was rightfully yours?" "Kai" Joe was about to say something but she cut him off. "But when I saw you fight Namikaze, when you got up after he called you weak. When you mastered a technique which had given you so much trouble. When you stood I saw that the fire of innocence had returned to your eyes. And it was then that I realized something." Joe replied, "What was it?" Kai looked into his eyes and answered, "That the fire was not your innocence, it was your will." Smiling she walked over to him. "Thank you for saving me Joe, in more ways than one." She said as she approached him and kissed him on the forehead. Laughing at his surprised expression, she teased, "What's the matter, have you never been kissed by a girl before? Or perhaps you're into other things?" "Oh shut up. The next time someone tries to kill you, I think I just might let them go through with it." He shot back. Kai smiled as she looked at him. For a second he had a peaceful expression on his face, but it immediately hardened as he brought his guard up. "He may be stable, but he's still hurt on the inside. It must be because of his parents." She thought. For a while they just sat there, looking up at the stars. As she looked at the sky she sighed. For the first time since her family's death, she was at peace.

"Hurry up slacker, you're going to be late." Sakura shouted at him as he finished packing. "Buzz off Sakura I'm almost done." He answered as he shoved his kunai into his sheath. He and Kai had stayed out for a while and though he would never admit it to Sakura, it was his fault for over-sleeping. "I don't understand how someone can sleep in until 2 o clock." Sakura nagged as she put her hands on her hips. Then she added with a hint of a threat in her voice, "You weren't taking advantage of Kai were you?" Joe smiled and answered, "How would you even know if I did?" Sakura was immediately on the defensive. Turning a shade of dark pink, she shouted, "Of course I know about that stuff!" Joe smiled, "This is just too easy." He thought as he said, "Oh, so you admit that you are a pervert." "Joe you bastard!" Sakura fumed as she was about to punch him. Joe braced himself for the impact expecting the worst. But instead she just knocked him a little. Turning around, she yelled, "If you're not out in ten minutes I'll sick Kakashi sensei on you!" Joe just rolled his eyes, "When is she going to understand that if I actually blocked her she might hurt herself. Oh well, guess I had better get moving." On the way out though, he wondered why she hadn't hit him harder. "Normally she shoots to kill. Oh well don't really give a crap." He thought to himself. Rushing out, he saw Yahiko, Sakura, and Kakashi waiting for him. "It's about time, I thought I told you ten minutes." Sakura said. "Who do you think I am, your slave. Think again." Joe shot back. Kakashi sighed and said, "Let's just cut him some slack guys. He did perform the first aid that helped Kai and I right?" "But master, he sti-" Sakura was about to say, but someone cut her off. "That's enough Sakura." Yahiko interrupted. Joe, Sakura, and Kakashi all stopped walking at the same time. They were completely dumbfounded by Yahiko. "What's wrong?" He asked as he looked back at them. "Di-did you just stand up for me?" Joe asked awestruck. "Don't get used to it slacker." Yahiko answered stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Man, what happened to these three. One second they all hated me and now they have my back. That's…strange." He thought as he put his own hands in his pockets. Yet he realized that it felt good also, to know that someone had your own back. Smiling to himself, he began walking with the others. As they reached the city gates, they noticed that a crowd had gathered at the gates. "Leaving so soon Kakashi?" Connor asked as he walked up and offered his hand. "Well I was trying to avoid a high councilor." Kakashi joked as he took it. "Now why would you do that?" Connor asked. "Simple, I hate politics." Kakashi answered as they released each other's hands. "As do I, things were so much simpler when I was leading the resistance." He said sadly, then added sarcastically, "Perhaps I should go mad with power? It would make things easier." Kakashi answered, "Careful, that's the kind of thinking that Nobuhide delved in to." Connor sighed, looking at the city he answered. "We have come such a long way and yet we still have so far to go. But the people of this land are strong, and they will endure. We will find a way." "I wish you the best of luck. I also hear that you have petitioned to join the land of fire. I am sure that Fire Daimyo Date will be most pleased." Kakashi answered. Connor smiled, "Yes, Stone and Leaf has always been allies. But our stubbornness kept us apart. After meeting your student I realized that the time for barriers is finished. We must join forces for the betterment of both our peoples." He answered looking at Joe. "Now you really sound like a politician." Kakashi said as he patted Connor on the back. "I hate you Kakashi." Connor answered as he moved on over to the three genin. "You three are powerful ninja for your age, and you will always be heros of this nation." He congratulated as he shook each of their hands. However, when he reached Joe's he paused and said, "Your eyes burn with a strength that I had lost. But thanks to you it is back." Then he looked in Joe's eyes and added, "Hang on to that strength. It will do you well in the battles to come." Joe simply answered, "I will." With that Connor went to the front of the crowd and began to wave them off. Turning around, Joe was about to walk away when all of a sudden someone grabbed him from behind. Struggling to escape, Joe looked behind and saw it was Kai. "Would you let go of me, I told you that I was leaving today." He said as he broke her grip. Then, in front of a fuming Sakura, an uncaring Yahiko, and a smiling Kakashi, Kai kissed him on the cheek. The crowd ate it up, roaring their approval. "Goodbye Joe, thank you for everything." She said as she hugged him one last time and walked back over to Connor. "That jerk, I told her not to do that!" Joe thought to himself, then thought out loud, "I'm going to kill her!" "That's a little harsh Joe, I believe that she was just saying thank you." Kakashi slyly said. Sakura was nowhere as generous. "Not if I kill you first you disgusting excuse for a person! I can't believe you took advantage of her insecurity likethatonlyapervertwoulddosuchathingtoagirl…!" Sakura shouted as she started to chase him. "Easy Sakura you're going to hurt yourself." Joe answered as he ducked under one of her swings. "Hold still so I can give you what's coming to you!" She answered cocking her fist. Joe smiled as he dodged another punch. Even though everything seemed the same, he knew that things were going to be different from now on. He wouldn't let it turn out any other way.

Kai smiled as she watched Sakura and Joe go at it. She knew that he would get riled up if she kissed him in public. Sakura losing her temper was just an added bonus to the mix. "He sure has a way with the ladies huh Kai?" Connor joked as he watched them leave. "Yes he does…" Kai answered dreamily. "It's too bad that he's so young." She thought then shook her head. "So joining the Leaf is the first act of the council huh?" She asked. Connor smiled and answered, "Nope, the diamond mines are our prime concern right now. They have the potential to save our Land, maybe even help the Leaf rebuild." He answered. "So then what was the first act?" She asked. Joe and his squad had already turned and disappeared into the forest. "While, that village needed a name remember? And seeing what we owe the Leaf Ninja I pulled a few strings and made an honest, unbiased suggestion." Kai gave him a knowing look, "What did you name it?" Smiling, Connor answered, "Donnelly. It was a unanimous decision. The village is barren, with only stones and rocks to draw from. But with enough hard work it could become the key to our success." Kai laughed and answered, "I like it, it's a fitting name." Then her tone grew serious. "What about the Daimyo's sentence?" Connor answered, "Jailed for life. He won't be getting out anytime soon, I'll make sure of it." Kai noticed him turn and leave. Curious she asked, "Where are you going?" Connor stopped but did not turn back, and answered, "To tell them that I won't let their sacrifices be in vain. So that they…and I can rest easy." With that, he left for the cemetery. "He goes there too often, no wonder he can't get over them." Kai thought as she turned back towards the city. "The village of Donnelly huh? Knowing his stubbornness, I wouldn't be surprised if it grew larger than Saito someday."


End file.
